MLB Player News

Donaldson (calf) is scheduled to be activated from the DL and return to the Blue Jays lineup Friday against Texas, the Toronto Sun reports.

The third baseman has been out since April 14, but he returns as the Jays begin a 10-game homestand. Owners shouldn't think twice about plugging Donaldson back into their fantasy lineups immediately.

Duffy (heel) is scheduled to take batting practice against Brad Boxberger (back) next week and also play in extended spring training games, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The infielder has had plenty of starts and stops in his rehab, with the latest setback coming after he fouled a ball off his foot while taking batting practice. Duffy has managed to play three games with High-A Charlotte, hitting .250 over eight at-bats. His batting practice sessions and the game action he's expected to see should serve as a good barometer of where he stands physically.

Rendon went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Thursday's loss to Seattle.

It was the fourth home run and ninth RBI of the series for Rendon, as he left the yard for a third straight game Thursday. He's up to a .283/.380/.516 slash line with nine homers, 32 RBI and 23 runs for the year and should continue to provide solid cross-category numbers hitting in the middle of the league's highest-scoring lineup.

Asuaje was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Thursday.

Asuaje was recalled Monday, but after two hitless at-bats as a pinch hitter, he'll head back to the minors for more consistent playing time. Dinelson Lamet will take his spot on the active roster in order to make his major-league debut on the mound against the Mets on Thursday.

LeMahieu is not in the Rockies' lineup Thursday against the Phillies, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

The keystoner gets a breather in the matinee but should return to the second post in the lineup Friday. LeMahieu boasts a .290/.365/.382 line in 209 plate appearances. Alexi Amarista takes his place at second base, batting seventh.

Rendon went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Mariners.

The first-inning blast proved to be all the offense Tanner Roark would need in this one. Rendon now has three homers and eight RBI over his last two games after going 11 starts without producing either one, but his .277/.378/.497 slash line, eight home runs and 31 RBI on the season have him on track for a career-best campaign.

Bregman went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to Detroit.

Bregman's season has been notable for its lack of power as the young third baseman entered Wednesday with a .359 slugging percentage. But he's trended upward in May with nine of his 36 hits going for extra bases, including all three of his homers, increasing his slugging percentage from .310 at the start the month to .395 after Wednesday's seven total bases. Ideally, a team is looking for more pop out of its third baseman but Bregman, who came up through the minors as a shortstop, has been hitting more like a middle infielder.

Valencia (wrist) is back in the lineup for Wednesday's contest with the Nationals, batting cleanup and playing first base, Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

After nearly returning Tuesday night, Valencia will hop back into action Wednesday night. He'll get a favorable spot in the order thanks to Nelson Cruz getting the night off, but he'll need to improve upon his .239 batting average if he really wants to take advantage of it.

Rendon went 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI and three runs in Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Mariners.

When Rendon decides to have a game, he really has a game. Tuesday's explosion marked the second time in less than a month that he has put up a multi-homer effort with at least five RBI. The production hasn't been coming consistently for the Nationals' third baseman, though. He hadn't hit a home run or notched an RBI in his last 11 games (46 plate appearances) prior to Tuesday. However, the last time Rendon filled up the box score like this, he hit .333 and drove in eight runs over his next six games, so maybe a similar hot streak is in his future.

Manager John Gibbons expects Donaldson (calf) to return to the lineup sometime over the weekend against the Rangers, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Blue Jays have been fairly optimistic with most of their return dates thus far, so it's worth being a bit leery about this news. However, Donaldson did begin a rehab assignment Monday night and didn't experience a setback, so a Friday return doesn't seem to be out of the question at the moment. More details on this front should come forth as Toronto's weekend series nears.