MLB Player News

LeMahieu went 2-for-3 in Sunday's loss to Miami and finished the campaign with an MLB-best .364 batting average.

LeMahieu's finish atop the leaderboard makes him the first player in modern major-league history to win a batting crown in both leagues. After a superb first campaign with the Yankees in 2019, the veteran's performance this season was even better as he posted a career-best 1.011 OPS; meanwhile, his 10 homers and career-high .226 ISO dispel the notion that last season's power breakthrough was a fluke. LeMahieu enters the postseason swinging a hot stick -- he batted an even .400 with four homers and 13 RBI over his final 13 games.

Rendon is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Both Rendon and Mike Trout close out the year with back-to-back absences after the Angels were officially eliminated from postseason contention Friday. Rendon had a good fantasy season, but his campaign was far better by real-world measures. In fact, Rendon currently sits fifth in all of MLB in fWAR (2.8).

Donaldson (calf) is not in the lineup Sunday against the Reds, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The veteran third baseman exited Friday's contest with a right calf cramp and won't start the final two games of the season. It's not a great sign given Donaldson has battled calf issues in recent years, but the Twins may just be expressing caution on the eve of the playoffs. Marwin Gonzalez receives the start at third base Sunday for the Twins.

Moncada went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 9-5 win over the Cubs.

The long ball was his first since Aug. 17. Moncada has been open about his struggles with the lingering effects of having COVID-19 in July, but he told James Fegan of The Athletic that "it's improving" and that his energy level has been up the last two weeks.

LeMahieu went 4-for-5 with two doubles, one run and three RBI during Saturday's 11-4 win over the Marlins.

The 32-year-old was hitless during Friday's series opener but more than made up for it Saturday by delivering his fourth four-hit game of the season. LeMahieu is slashing .359/.415/.589 with 10 homers, 10 doubles, 41 runs, and 27 RBI and enters Sunday's season finale poised to win the AL batting title.

Rendon will sit Saturday against the Dodgers, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The Angels are resting a few key players after getting officially eliminated from playoff contention Friday. David Fletcher moves to third base in his absence, with Elliot Soto serving as the shortstop.

Donaldson (calf) will not start Saturday's game against Cincinnati.

Donaldson left Friday's game with a right calf cramp, a worrying sign for a player who has missed quite a bit of time with calf issues in recent years. He's reportedly feeling good and receiving treatment Saturday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, but the Twins are likely far more concerned about having him healthy for the playoffs than having him available for the final two games of the regular season. Ehire Adrianza will be the third baseman Saturday.

Devers entered Friday's game as a pinch hitter, played third base and went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored in an 8-7 loss to the Braves.

Devers also committed his 14th error of the season, giving him an .887 fielding percentage. He's recovered from a slow start produce a strong overall offensive season, but Devers has regressed in the field. Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke told Ian Browne of MLB.com that Devers has the tools in the field but has mental lapses. Bobby Dalbec started Friday's game at third base and is considered above-average defensively at the hot corner, better than Devers.

Bregman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a sacrifice fly in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Rangers.

Bregman tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning with his sixth homer of the season. He put the Astros ahead in the 10th with a sacrifice fly to plate initial runner Jose Altuve, but the Rangers battled back to win in the bottom of the 10th. Bregman is now slashing .253/.357/.473 with 22 RBI and 19 runs scored in 40 contests. His .830 OPS would be his lowest mark since 2017.

Urias went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 10-5 loss to the Blue Jays.

His fifth-inning shot got the O's on the board, but unfortunately they were already down 10-0 at that point. It was Urias' first homer in the majors, and the 26-year-old has had an impressive start to his big-league career, going 8-for-21 (.381) through nine games.