MLB Player News

Phillies third baseman Cody Asche put together a solid performance Monday, though it came ina  7-4 loss to the Giants.

Asche went 3 for 4 with three singles in the loss, just one night after he struck out in all four of his at-bats. He scored once in the loss.

Asche is hitting .256/.306/.401 in 227 at-bats on the season.  

In order to keep Arismendy Alcantara on the roster, the Cubs might be faced with a difficult decision to to demote outfielder Junior Lake or infielder Mike Olt, who are both struggling offensively, to Triple-A Iowa, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

"I don’t want to speculate on any of that," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said Saturday. "They’ve been working hard. They stay positive, and they’ve been handling it extremely well. One of the things I try to talk to them about is not to focus so much on the results. I want them to focus on the at-bat."

The Phillies feel third baseman Cody Asche could make the switch to another position once prospect Maikel Franco is ready to take over at the hot corner. However, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team isn't at that crossroad yet since they don't see Franco as being ready for the majors, per The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"He could," Amaro Jr. said of a position switch for Asche. "He's athletic enough. But there is not anyone pushing him right now. Maikel isn't pushing him."

Brewers infielder Jean Segura is back in the starting lineup Friday against the Nationals, after he was reinstated from the bereavement list earlier in the day.  

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura was reinstated from the bereavement list Friday, after he spent nearly a week away from the team dealing with a death in the family. The Brewers open a series against the Nationals Friday, though it is not yet clear if he will be in the lineup for that evening's game, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday shortstop Jean Segura rejoined the team Wednesday one week after Segura’s 9-month-old son passed away in the Dominican Republic, and added Segura will be activated off the bereavement list for the weekend series against the Nationals, per MLB.com.

"He’s back in town. He got back last night and I talked to him, and he’s ready to go," Roenicke told 620-AM WTMJ’s Greg Matzek on Thursday. "He needs to do this, he feels, to keep his mind off of some things. So he’ll be back with us. I don’t know that he’ll be playing every day at the beginning. It’s kind of up to him and how he feels. But he wants to do this, so he’ll meet us there tomorrow."

Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu entered the All-Star break with a six-game hitting streak intact after going 2 for 4 with a double in Sunday's first-half finale against the Twins.

LeMahieu never posted a batting average lower than .314 over a full minor-league season, and while he has yet to reach that level in the big leagues, he has posted batting averages of .280 or better in each of his first three seasons with at least 200 at-bats. That ability to scratch out hits doesn't come with much power though, as is evidenced by LeMahieu's .283/.339/.352 line at the break. His stolen-base success rate has fallen this season, as he's managed to record just eight steals in 15 attempts after successfully nabbing 18 bases in 25 attempts last season.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Wednesday shortstop Jean Segura remains on the bereavement list, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Segura has been in the Dominican Republic since last week after learning his 9-month-old son, Janniel, had passed away after a brief illness.

"I've made phone calls today to try to make contact with him," Melvin said. "I haven't been able to make contact at this time. I'm hoping to find out today. We've left messages but we haven't heard back. We just don't know right now.

"There are a lot of unknowns here. Whatever Jean decides, we will support him. And we know his teammates will be there for him, too."

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Reds third baseman Todd Frazier survived tiebreaking swing-offs in the first round before eventually meeting in the finals of Monday's Home Run Derby, where Cespedes picked up his second straight title with a 9-1 knockout of Frazier.

Cespedes' three first-round homers earned him a swingoff with Athletics teammate Josh Donaldson, and after Donaldson managed just one home run three swings, the outfielder delivered homers in each of his first two swings to advance. He defeated Orioles outfielder Adam Jones 9-3 in the second round after Jones managed four first-round shots, then took down Jose Bautista, who had a competition-best 10 homers in the first round, by a score of 7-4 in the AL Final. Twins home-field competitor Brian Dozier hit just two home runs in the first round, failing to advance.

Frazier played the role of underdog throughout, hitting just two home runs as the first batter in the competition but managing to slide into a swing-off with Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau after Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig failed to hit a single home run before recording seven outs. Frazier went first in the swing-off and managed one home run in three swings but advanced after Morneau went 0 for 3. The Reds third baseman took down Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki 6-2 after Tulowitzki hit four first-round homers. Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton earned a bye after hitting six massive blasts in the first round, but he bowed out to Frazier 1-0 after a long break.

Cespedes joined Ken Griffey as the only players to win back-to-back Home Run Derby titles. He'll likely enter the 2015 competition as the favorite to make it three in a row.

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon registered three hits in his team's 10-3 win over the Phillies in Philadelphia.

Rendon singled in the first and sixth innings, respectively. He doubled in a run in the ninth inning and finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored and one RBI. He enters the All-Star break with a .287/.343/.490 with 13 homers and 53 RBI in 359 at-bats.