MLB Player News

Manager Buck Showalter is optimistic Machado (illness) will return to the lineup Tuesday against Boston, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Machado missed his first game of the season Monday due to illness. He figures to be reevaluated prior to Tuesday's matchup, and a decision on his status is likely to follow.

Candelario batted fourth in all three games of Detroit's weekend series against Cleveland, with Victor Martinez behind him in the lineup.

Manager Ron Gardenhire previously indicated that he didn't have plans to move Martinez down from the cleanup spot, but it looks like Candelario is forcing the issue a bit, as the 24-year-old has an .857 OPS and 10 home runs this season. Martinez, meanwhile, has a .656 OPS with just four home runs. It remains to be seen whether this order sticks, as Candelario has batted in each of the top five lineup spots this season and could continue to move around as Gardenhire tries to find the right combinations. However, the young third baseman has clearly established himself as someone who deserves to be in the middle of the Tigers' order with a chance to drive in runs.

Machado's absence from Monday's lineup is due to illness, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The illness explains why Machado will miss his first game of the season. The severity and the potential length of his absence are not yet clear.

Valencia (illness) is back in the lineup Monday against the Red Sox.

Valencia had sat out Sunday with an illness, but the issue was apparently a minor one as he won't be missing any more time. The veteran third baseman is hitting a solid .286/.348/.484 through 40 games this season.

Machado is not in the lineup Monday against the Red Sox, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Machado will get just his first day off of the season. He's had a phenomenal year at the plate so far, hitting .312/.380/.591 with 18 homers through 64 games. All three slash stats would be career highs, and he's on pace for a career-best 46 homers as well. He's also posting career bests in walk rate (10.4 percent) and strikeout rate (14.3 percent). Jace Peterson will start at shortstop in his place.

Kieboom went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base for High-A Potomac in Sunday's win over Lynchburg.

The Nats' No. 3 fantasy prospect has been on a tear lately, hitting safely in nine of his last 10 games with a .351 (13-for-37) batting average, four homers, two steals, 12 runs and 14 RBI. Kieboom now has a .296/.386/.491 slash line through 56 games at High-A with 10 home runs, six stolen bases and a strong 34:48 BB:K, and the 20-year-old seems headed for a promotion to Double-A before the summer is over.

Lewis left Sunday's game at Low-A Cedar Rapids in the first inning after taking an awkward step while running to first base, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The move was called precautionary and he'll be examined on Monday. Lewis, the 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick, is hitting .288 with five home runs and a .757 OPS.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Sunday that Donaldson (calf) has been taking batting practice and fielding grounders, but relayed the third baseman won't be activated from the 10-day disabled list until he completes a series of baserunning tests, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

Since Donaldson hasn't been shut down from baseball activities and is simply waiting for the soreness in his left calf to subside enough for him to run comfortably, the Blue Jays are continuing to view him as day-to-day. Toronto likely won't have a firm target date for Donaldson's return from the DL until he's able to do the baserunning drills, but once that happens, his activation could quickly follow. Donaldson has been sidelined for around two weeks with the injury, so he won't necessarily require a minor-league rehab assignment before being activated.

Devers, who batted fifth in the order and recorded his first RBI in 14 games Sunday, was removed for a pinch hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a 5-2 loss to the White Sox.

Devers is fighting a slump, the first taste of adversity in his young career, but has strung together five straight games with a hit. However, it's not a good sign when a five-hole hitter is being pulled from a key moment in a game for a pinch hitter. One can cite that the left-handed hitting Devers wasn't in an ideal spot against White Sox left-hander Jace Fry, but it was a small sign of the team's wavering confidence in the 21-year-old third baseman, whose batting average sits at .232 entering Monday's game in Baltimore.

Muncy went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, a solo home run and two RBI in the Dodgers' 7-2 victory over the Braves on Sunday.

Muncy continued his recent barrage of long balls with a fifth-inning solo blast off Sean Newcomb, giving him three homers in his last three games and five in his last eight. The recent surge has pushed his slash line up to .259/.374/.569 through 116 at-bats, so the Dodgers pretty much have to keep his bat in the lineup for however long he continues to rake like this.