MLB Player News

Duffy (hamstring) is not in the lineup against the Angels on Friday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy will remain on the bench for a third straight game after suffering a hamstring injury during Tuesday's contest. In his place, Christian Arroyo will start at third base and bat eighth in the order. However, Duffy was able to take run the bases and take batting practice before Friday's game, Jay Paris of MLB.com reports. He could return to the lineup Saturday at either third base or designated hitter.

Chapman is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Chapman has started at third base every game so far this season, but has struggled at the plate in May, despite going 3-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday. The 25-year-old has a .196/.297/.339 line with 22 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances this month, as the Athletics will start Chad Pinder at third base in his absence Friday.

Moncada went 3-for-4 with a double and run scored Thursday against the Rangers.

Moncada recorded his first extra-base hit in three games since returning from the disabled list. He is 4-for-12 in that span and has shown no signs of his hamstring injury slowing him down with the bat. It remains to be seen just how much he'll run for the remainder of the season, but his health presents no red flags for the time being.

Chapman went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored Thursday in the Athletics' victory over the Blue Jays.

The big fly, his eighth of the year, floated over the left-field wall off a John Axford fastball in the sixth to extend Oakland's lead to 9-4. Chapman went 11 games without a homer before he left the yard May 11 but looks to be re-establishing that part of his game. His flyball-heavy approach won't position him for a helpful batting average, but he takes plenty of walks to make up for that deficiency and keep him afloat in OBP formats.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer Thursday in Baltimore's loss to the Red Sox.

Machado cleared the Green Monster with two outs in the ninth inning, when the Orioles were down to their final out losing 6-0. The moon shot, which put Machado in at least a tie for the major-league lead with 14 (pending other Thursday action), wasn't enough to tarnish David Price's complete-game win, but it was the latest highlight of a ridiculous run for Machado. He now has four homers and 13 RBI while going 9-for-28 (.321) in his last seven games. Despite Orioles' prolonged issues, Machado continues to provide MVP-caliber production.

Davis was not promoted to replace Jake Marisnick due to fewer games in the outfield than Tony Kemp, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After demoting Marisnick to Triple-A Fresno, the Astros likely had a decision between Davis (1.017 OPS) and Kemp (.842) before settling on the more experienced outfielder in Kemp. The organization wanted to gradually expose Davis to the outfield when he was sent down to the minors earlier this season, but he's played just six games in left field since arriving in Fresno.

Duffy (hamstring) believes he'll be ready to return to the lineup Friday against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy sat out Wednesday's series finale against the Royals after exiting Tuesday's game with tightness in his right leg. The infielder appears resigned to missing Thursday's series opener versus the Angels in order to give himself two days' rest, but he told reporters Wednesday that his hamstring already felt improved from the previous night, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Astudillo is impressing the Twins' organization at Triple-A Rochester and is on the doorstep of the majors after Jason Castro went down for the year with a torn meniscus, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Astudillo has one of the most fascinating profiles of any player in affiliated baseball. Over nine minor-league seasons, the round-bodied catcher has a remarkable 3.1 percent strikeout rate. Getting the bat on the ball is more or less all he can do, though, as he's combined a .309 batting average with a 3.4 percent walk rate and a .092 ISO. That's a solid offensive profile for a catcher, but the problem is that Astudillo is a catcher in name only, having earned poor reviews defensively throughout his career. The Twins have had him catch almost exclusively in the minors this season and he's now just one injury away from finally getting a chance to see if his profile plays at the major-league level.

Chapman went 2-for-3 with a two-run double, a walk and a run in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Chapman opened the scoring on the night with a well-placed double to deep right field, plating Marcus Semien and Chad Pinder. The 25-year-old is progressively putting a dreadful 3-for-37 slump that encompassed his first 11 games of May behind him, as he's now 5-for-11 over his last three contests.

Duffy (hamstring) is not in the lineup Wednesday against Kansas City, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

As expected, Duffy will get the afternoon off after exiting Tuesday's contest with right hamstring tightness. In his absence, Daniel Robertson will start at third base. Consider Duffy day-to-day ahead of Thursday's series opener versus the Angels, though it seems unlikely that he'll rejoin the lineup before Friday.