MLB Player News

Athletics infield prospect Max Muncy is 8 for 24 with four doubles, one home run and five walks this spring after going 0 for 3 Wednesday, and manager Bob Melvin praised his work, calling him "a nice player," MLB.com reports.

"He's a little gamer," Melvin said. "He's made a couple errors, but watching him in pregame stuff and drills and so forth, he handles himself very well. He's a nice player."

Muncy hit .264/.385/.379 with seven home runs, 63 RBI and seven stolen bases in 435 at-bats with Double-A Midland last season.

"I feel like I'm seeing the ball great," Muncy said. "My biggest thing is I get myself in a good hitting position early, so timing isn't too big of an issue when you do that. I just see the ball out of the pitcher's hands is all I've been doing."

The Twins expected Danny Santana to be their starting shortstop, but Eduardo Escobar is making it a difficult choice for the team. 

Escobar was the starter last season, finishing with the second-highest doubles total among MLB shortstops. This spring, he's picked up where he left off last year. 

Escobar is 4-for-9 in the first three spring games, with a home run and a double. 

"He knows the situation, and it hasn't affected him in the least," Twins manager Paul Molitor told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. "He's had some good at-bats here early in camp. He's a little man who can drive the ball a little bit."

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria appears to be penciled in the cleanup spot in the lineup, after manager Kevin Cash revealed that he's striving to have more of an everyday lineup once the season starts, per MLB.com.

Longoria played 103 of his 162 games last season at the No. 4 spot. He hit .264/.333/.403 with 13 home runs and 64 RBI over 390 at-bats at cleanup.

Twins manager Paul Molitor marked infielder Eduardo Escobar as "an important part" of the team in 2014 and believes he will be the same this season, the Star Tribune reports.

"He was an important part of our team last year," Molitor said. "He will be this year, too."

Escobar delivered the best performance of his career in 2014, hitting .275/.315/.406 with six home runs and 37 RBI in 433 at-bats. However, he arrived at camp to learn he was in a competition for the shortstop role with last year's center fielder, Danny Santana. Breaking the news to Escobar was a delicate conversation for the manager.

"Obviously," Molitor said. "You’ve got a guy who came in and played every day for you last year, and then you’re thinking about doing something different. I’ve tried to explain it to him the best I could. His answers, at least for now, are, 'No problem. I understand.'"

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is in the team's lineup Thursday after going 0-for-3 in his spring debut the previous day while playing in his first game since August, masnsports.com reports.

"It's great to be back out there, great to get it rolling. It's fun to go get some [at-bats] and make some plays," Machado said Wednesday. "I was just excited to be back on the field playing and trying to get back into that rhythm. It's going to take some time, but it's good we're out there playing and running around."

When asked about the last time he was this excited to play baseball, Machado said, "I can't remember. I guess the day before I got hurt, or the day I got hurt. It was just overall a great feeling to get back out there and get in the groove of things and get out there rolling. I'm excited to get out there and get my at-bats and get where I need to be."

Machado was limited to 82 games last season and underwent season-ending knee surgery for the second straight year. He's in the leadoff spot Thursday so that he can receive extra at-bats.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado struggled with an 0-for-3 day at the plate in his first game since back from an elbow injury.

Manager Buck Showalter was happy Machado finally got on the field, according to MASN.com.

"Manny needs to play in some games. He's tired of all the work. You think of all the work he's done since he was able to start going on the field after the surgery and you think about the last time he got to play a lot," Showalter said. "We'll try to get as many reps for him as we can, because physically it's not a challenge for him. He's in good shape."

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe returned to workouts Monday after missing two days due to an illness, according to the Pioneer Press.

Plouffe said he made it through Monday's workout without any issue and believes he will be back to full speed Tuesday.

Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe missed the team's workout on Saturday with an illness. 

Plouffe showed up for the morning meetings, and then the team sent him home. 

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons hinted that Danny Valencia and Chris Colabello will see some time at left field this spring, according to Sportsnet.ca. Toronto is hoping to fill a void at left field after the team announced Thursday that Michael Saunders will be sidelined until July with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

In his career, Valencia played left field in only five games in the minors. Colabello has logged 30 career games in the majors at left field.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria gave a vote of confidence to new manager Kevin Cash on Tuesday, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

"I just think there comes a time when it's just the right time for somebody new," Longoria said. While that may come off as an indictment of former manager Joe Maddon, Longoria stressed that is not the case. "That's no knock on Joe. Obviously he did so many great things for the franchise and so many great things for me as a player. But I guess all good things come to an end at some point."

Having Cash around should inject some excitement into the team, according to Longoria. "I think it's a great time for Kevin to be able to step in and kind of experience the sense of newness with a lot of people. And the guys who have been here are excited for what he's going to bring."

The 29-year-old hit .253/.320/.404 over 624 at-bats last year.