MLB Player News

Duffy went 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a run in Thursday's 6-4 Opening Day victory over the Red Sox.

The oft-injured 27-year-old got the Rays' comeback from a 4-0 deficit started with his timely two-bagger in the eighth inning that plated Daniel Robertson. Duffy made it through spring without any notable health issues and did so in fine fashion, hitting .327 over 53 plate appearances. Slated for a healthy dose of leadoff work in 2018, Duffy could be poised for an above-average season in runs scored thanks to a solid group of hitters behind him.

Rendon is batting second and playing third base Friday against the Reds.

Rendon batted second on nine occasions for the Nationals last season, but former manager Dusty Baker's old-school lineups saw Rendon bat sixth more often than any other spot (73 times). New manager Dave Martinez appears to be favoring on-base percentage at the top, with Adam Eaton leading off and Rendon batting second. The 27-year-old had the best offensive season of his career in 2017, hitting .301/.403/.533 with 25 homers in 147 games. If Friday's lineup is a preview of things to come and Rendon sticks in the second spot, expect a shift from RBI to runs, which won't effect his overall fantasy value much. The more significant effect will be an increase in his total number of plate appearances, which should slightly boost all of his counting stats.

Anderson went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and two RBI in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Cubs.

Not much went right for the Marlins on Opening Day, but Anderson's performance was a rare bright spot. There are questions about the 24-year-old's ultimate fantasy upside given that his stroke seems more geared to line drives than homers, which likely restricts his utility to deep mixed and NL-only formats, but the rebuilding franchise will give Anderson every chance to prove himself in 2018.

Asuaje batted fifth and started at second base Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a walk in an Opening Day loss to the Brewers.

Asuaje was in a heated battle with Cory Spangenberg for the starting job at the keystone this spring, and his presence in the Padres' first official lineup confirms that he is the victor. The 26-year-old slashed .270/.334/.362 in 343 plate appearances last season, so he likely won't be anything more than an empty batting average from a fantasy standpoint.

Arenado went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Arenado hit 16 homers in just 150 at-bats against lefties last season and continued his onslaught against southpaws in his 2018 debut, homering off Patrick Corbin. The 26-year-old is averaging 40 homers and 131 RBI over the past three seasons and there's little reason to believe he won't approach those marks yet again.

LeMahieu went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

This was nice to see from LeMahieu, who has reached double-digit homers just once in his career, finishing with eight a season ago. Hopefully he adds to his total sooner than he did in 2017 -- LeMahieu didn't hit his second until May 21 last year. He's in his final season before free agency.

Manager John Gibbons said after Thursday's loss that Donaldson is dealing with a 'dead arm,' Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Donaldson simply didn't look like himself on several throws across the diamond Thursday. He had already sat out of Toronto's exhibition games in Montreal for maintenance purposes, but it's clear that his arm still isn't 100 percent. Gibbons said that this is a case of dead arm rather than any sort of injury for Donaldson. It'll be worth monitoring whether the Blue Jays opt to deploy him as the designated hitter until his arm is back to full strength.

Bregman will start at third base and hit second in Thursday's season opener against the Rangers, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Bregman opened last season as the club's No. 2 hitter, but a slow start at the dish eventually dropped him to the lower third of the lineup. Manager A.J. Hinch moved the infielder back up to the two hole in mid-August once Bregman started to heat up at the plate, and the 23-year-old never relinquished that spot after continuing to produce during Houston's run to the World Series. Without the World Baseball Classic occupying most his training time this spring, Bregman should enter the 2018 campaign fresher than he did a season ago, which should aid his chances of a breakout.

Urshela (hamstring) will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Urshela was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain last week. He should be able to return to the fold once he's eligible to come off the DL, as this injury was only expected to hamper him for 10-to-14 days. Upon his activation, the 26-year-old will likely serve as a reserve infielder.

Duffy will hit leadoff and play third base for Thursday's Opening Day contest against Boston.

Though manager Kevin Cash said that Denard Span and Carlos Gomez are likely to share time atop the Rays' order this season, he elected to place Duffy in that role against Chris Sale on Opening Day. In 2016, Duffy appeared in 91 games split between Tampa Bay and San Francisco, hitting .258/.310/.357 with five home runs, 28 RBI and eight stolen bases, but he was limited to three minor-league rehab games in 2017 due to complications with a heel injury.