MLB Player News

Duffy was 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

It was his first home run since May 12, but Duffy has a solid .333 average (17-51) so far in June. After missing all of 2017, the 27-year-old infielder has been one of the Rays' more productive bats in 2018, slashing .316/.354/.425 with 16 extra-base hits and 19 RBI in 212 at-bats.

Ramirez went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in a 5-2 victory over the White Sox on Thursday.

Ramirez remains among the league leaders in home runs, hitting his 20th of the season Thursday. The 25-year-old third baseman is on base to crush his career-high 29 home runs hit last season. On top of that, Ramirez has 46 RBI and a .292/.384/.611 slash line so far in 2018.

Chapman was diagnosed with a hand contusion and will undergo an MRI on Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

It's unclear when Chapman suffered the injury, but it helps explain why he was removed from Thursday's game against the Astros prior to the seventh inning. It's worth noting that Chapman dealt with an injury to the same hand during spring training that forced him to miss some time, according to Julian McWilliams of The Athletic Bay Area. The third baseman was 0-for-2 before exiting.

Cesar went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk Wednesday in Double-A Corpus Christi's 4-3 win over Midland, extending his hitting streak to 35 games.

Cesar's streak is the longest -- active or not -- in affiliated ball this season and puts him just two games shy of matching the Texas League record established in 1969. Though the 23-year-old Cesar is slugging a career-best .530 to go with a stellar .349 average, there's still some skepticism he'll be able to hit for enough power from a corner-infield spot to emerge as a big-league regular.

Moncada is out of the lineup against Cleveland on Thursday.

Moncada will retreat to the bench after starting the past 29 games. Over that span, he's hitting just .195/.238/.322 with three home runs, eight RBI and a whopping 43 strikeouts. In his absence, Yolmer Sanchez will start at second base while Matt Davidson gets the nod at third.

Escobar went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Tigers.

Escobar was all of the Minnesota offense in this one, as his first-inning single plated the club's only two runs in the game. The 29-year-old is hitting an impressive .391 with 13 extra-base hits in 12 games since the calendar flipped to June. Boosted by that stretch, he's slashing .288/.339/.562 on the year to go along with 12 homers and 39 RBI.

Bregman is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Bregman will head to the bench for just the third time all season following a string of 13 consecutive starts. The 24-year-old is hitting a solid .266/.375/.448 through 66 games this season. Marwin Gonzalez will man the hot corner in his stead, allowing Jake Marisnick to pick up a start in the outfield.

Chapman (hand) will man third base and bat sixth against Houston on Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Chapman was struck with a pitch on his left hand in the eighth inning of Tuesday's contest but was able to stay in the game and claimed that he would be fine moving forward, which appears to be the case. Over 67 games, he's slashing .254/.349/.454 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI.

Lewis (leg) started at shortstop and went 2-for-5 with a double and stolen base Tuesday in Low-A Cedar Rapids' 7-0 win over Kane County.

Lewis departed Sunday's game against Wisconsin after awkwardly stepping on first base, but his return to the field two days later in addition to his successful steal attempt suggest that the leg injury won't slow him going forward. The 19-year-old has been exceptional at Cedar Rapids this season, posting a .764 OPS while recording steals in 16 of his 17 tries.

Donaldson (calf) is set to run the bases during the Blue Jays' off day Thursday before potentially heading out on a short rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Manager John Gibbons was noncommittal when discussing Donaldson's timetable, but it appears as though the plan is for the third baseman to compete in a a minor-league game or two before returning to the field with Toronto. More should be known regarding his status following Thursday's series of baserunning drills.