MLB Player News

Duffy (Achilles) played six innings at shortstop for High-A Charlotte in his Rays organizational debut Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a single, Bryan Levine of Suncoast Sports reports.

The newly-acquired infielder rapped a solid single in the second for his one hit and, perhaps more importantly, put in some work at the position he'll be taking over once he makes it to the big league club. Duffy didn't get any chances in the field but was happy to begin the acclimation process to his new organization alongside a couple of familiar faces he's played against at the major league level, Mikie Mahtook and Alex Cobb. "It's nice to have Mikie and Alex here," Duffy said. "I don't know them personally very well, but I'm familiar with them from playing against them. Everybody is new. I'm just trying to remember as many names as possible." Duffy is expected to suit up for the Stone Crabs again Friday and is tentatively expected to join the Rays on a road trip next week.

Alvarez went 3-for-4 with his 16th homer in Thursday's loss to the Rangers.

He and Mark Trumbo went back-to-back in the fifth with the O's trying to claw their way back from a 4-0 deficit, but the comeback attempt fell short. After a slow first two months, Alvarez has been absolutely on fire since the first day of June. Over his last 36 games, Alvarez has gone 40-for-129 (.311) with 13 homers and 25 RBI. Yeah, he's still striking out a lot and not walking much, but he's had great success when making contact; as a result, the two-time 30-homer man is currently sitting on his highest career batting average (.259) and OPS (.832).

Valencia went 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored in Thursday's win over the Angels.

Valencia's homer in the fourth inning was the third solo shot against Angels starter Ricky Nolasco. He was in right field again Thursday after sitting Wednesday in favor of Max Muncy. Manager Bob Melvin indicated that Valencia will remain in a part-time role even with the departure of Josh Reddick, as the team looks to get younger players at-bats with an eye toward the future.

Plouffe (ribs) is expected to come off the DL on Monday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

He will DH in Thursday's rehab game with Triple-A Rochester and then get another game at third base and one at first base before heading back to the Twin Cities in advance of next week's series against the Astros that starts Monday. Miguel Sano is a candidate to be optioned to Triple-A as a corresponding move, as the Twins are unhappy with his work ethic with regards to his defense and conditioning. In this scenario, Plouffe would take over as the everyday third baseman. Either way, the veteran should find his way into the lineup more often than not when he is healthy.

Donaldson went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo homers in Wednesday's win over Houston.

While Donaldson's going to have a tough time matching last year's 123 RBI, he's actually outdoing himself anyway -- he's a strong bet for a second straight 40-homer campaign and has lifted his OPS by nearly 60 points from last season, pushing the 1.000 mark. Last season was no mirage -- at 30 years old, he's one of the game's top hitters, and he's actually only getting better.

Valencia is out of the lineup against the Angels on Wednesday.

Valencia will be out of the lineup for the fourth time in the past six games. Max Muncy will get the start in right field for the A's on Wednesday, with Yonder Alonso at first and Ryon Healy at third.

Duffy (Achilles) is aiming to be activated from the DL by the end of next week, the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin reports.

He has resumed his rehab assignment with High-A Charlotte after coming over to Tampa Bay in the Matt Moore trade, but will not be ready join his new team until late next week. Duffy, who will be asked to play some shortstop with the Rays, said he will embrace the position change. It would make sense for the Rays to play him all over the field, kind of like they did with Ben Zobrist back in the day, which should add some positional eligibility to his profile in the coming weeks.

Bregman is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.

Bregman, who wasted no time assaulting opposing pitchers upon arriving at Double-A and Triple-A, has found the feat harder to duplicate against big league pitching. He is 1-for-32 to start his career, so it's understandable that the Astros will give him a day to clear his head. Marwin Gonzalez will man third base and hit second Wednesday.

Duffy (Achilles) will resume his rehab assignment Thursday with High-A Charlotte, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy hasn't played a big league game since June 19 but appears to be close to finally making his return. The 25-year-old will likely play a few more rehab games at various levels before making his Rays debut. Duffy has been highly effective against southpaws this season, hitting .290 with two home runs and five RBI in 69 at-bats and could see time at all four infield positions once he is healthy.

Alvarez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Alvarez will take the night off while Mark Trumbo takes over the DH role and Steve Pearce slides into right field. The 29-year-old has been hot as of late, going 8-for-19 with three home runs, four RBI and four runs scored over the last five games.