MLB Player News

Davis will be inserted into the Astros' starting nine at first base against the Rangers on Saturday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

During the first two games of the 2018 season, Marwin Gonzalez has collected starts at the position while Yulieski Gurriel serves a five-game suspension. It remains to be seen whether Davis will head back to Triple-A Fresno or stay in the big leagues once Gurriel returns to the active roster.

McMahon is out of Friday's lineup against the Diamondbacks.

The Rockies have started the season against back-to-back lefties, so McMahon has yet to start a game this season. Ian Desmond will once again slot in at first base and hit sixth against lefty Robbie Ray. McMahon appeared as a pinch hitter Thursday and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout. Look for him to be in the lineup Saturday against righty Zack Greinke.

Paredes will start the 2018 campaign with High-A Lakeland, Emily Waldon of The Athletic reports.

Paredes was dealt to Detroit at last year's trade deadline and spent the final 32 games of the 2017 campaign with Low-A West Michigan. His time with the Whitecaps didn't compare to his production with the Cubs' High-A squad earlier that year, but he showed his potential as the youngest qualified hitter in the Midwest League during his age-18 season. The infield prospect is considered a solid defender with excellent contact skills at the plate.

Donaldson (dead arm) will serve as the Blue Jays' designated hitter for the next few games until his throwing shoulder improves, MLB Network Radio reports.

The good news is that it sounds like Donaldson won't lose out on significant at-bats while he deals with this dead arm phase. Instead, Kendrys Morales will lose out on playing time with Donaldson getting starts at DH, while Yangervis Solarte serves as the team's third baseman. Manager John Gibbons noted that structurally, everything is fine with Donaldson's arm/shoulder.

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.