MLB Player News

The Royals have benched designated hitter Billy Butler on Wednesday against the White Sox in favor of Danny Valencia. Butler continues to struggle, particularly in regard to his power numbers. He has just one home run since June 14 and three doubles since June 19. His .267/.320/.347 stat line pales in comparison to those he has compiled in previous seasons.

Jose Ramirez is not the prime shortstop prospect for the Indians - that distinction belongs to Francisco Lindor. But Ramirez has already received a chance to display his wares at the big league level and has now gotten another with a promotion to Cleveland.

Ramirez could serve as the starter with Asdrubal Cabrera dealing with a back problem. He has been torrid with Triple-A Columbus, racking up seven hits in his last four games, including three doubles and a triple, to sweeten his stat line to .302/.360/.441.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 7-2 win over the Cardinals Tuesday.

Longora waited until the last possible moment to deliver his blast, knocking his home run with two outs in the ninth inning. He has hit .262/.336/.400 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI in 390 at-bats.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is out of the lineup Tuesday with tightness in his lower back, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Machado is just 1 for 10 over his last three games but is still hitting .267/.317/.422 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI in 258 at-bats. He's day-to-day with the back issue.

Royals infielder Danny Valencia was unable to return to the lineup Tuesday against the White Sox, after he was hit by a pitch on the left hand Monday. He is day to day at this point. 

Royals infielder Danny Valencia underwent X-rays Monday after getting hit on the left hand by a pitch but the tests came back negative, the Kansas City Star reports.

Valencia went 1 for 2 and drove in the team's only run of the the game before being removed. He has hit .295/.342/.400 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 105 at-bats.

Twins infielder Trevor Plouffe was the team's only batter to make an impact Friday, in a 6-2 loss to the Rays.

Plouffe had just one hit in the game, as he slugged a third-inning two-run home run post the team's first and only runs on the board. He finished the game 1 for 4 overall with a run scored and a strikeout.

Plouffe has seven home runs and 44 RBI on the season, while hitting .245/.317/.417 in 78 games.  

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson didn't get his first hit until the ninth inning Friday, but made it count in a 5-4 win over the Orioles.

Donaldson went 1 for 4 in the game, but his lone hit won the game for the A's. He slugged a three-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning, erasing a two-run deficit with one swing.

Donaldson has 21 home runs in 93 games, and is just a few long balls away from his career-high mark of 24, set in 158 games a year ago. Donaldson is hitting .238/.316/.455 in 369 at-bats this season. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado continued his resurgence Friday, as he clubbed a late home run in a 5-4 loss to the Athletics.

Machado drove in two runs with his seventh-inning homer, to put the Orioles up, 4-2. Unfortunately, the bullpen could not make that lead stand up, as Machado's blast went to waste. He finished the game 2 for 4 with two runs driven in and one scored in the loss.

Machado has been red-hot in the month of July, hitting .486/.514/.829 with three home runs and five RBI in nine games since returning from a suspension. 

Rays infielder Evan Longoria drove in three runs Friday against the Twins.

With the bases loaded in the third inning, Longoria cleared the bases with a double to center. He also singled later in the game. Longoria finished 2 for 4, with no runs scored and three RBI.