MLB Player News

Valencia is not in the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports.

Valencia had started every game since Sept. 9, but he will sit out of Sunday's contest. Matt Olson will head out to right field in Valencia's place when Oakland faces Colby Lewis and the Rangers.

LeMahieu is out of the lineup Saturday against the Dodgers, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

It's not often one sees a healthy .349 hitter sit when they would have the platoon advantage, but LeMahieu hasn't had a day off in more than a month. Further, his 13-game hitting streak ended Friday and he's just 9-for-37 against Saturday's starter Clayton Kershaw. Patrick Valaika will get the nod at second base in LeMahieu's absence.

Alvarez went 1-for-5 with a solo homer in Friday's 3-2 extra-inning victory over Arizona.

The veteran slugger broke the ice on a dismal offensive performance up to that point by taking reliever Enrique Burgos deep with a 407-foot shot to right in the eighth, kickstarting the Orioles' comeback. Despite the homer Friday and some modest success making hard contact during the month, Alvarez is struggling overall in September, as evidenced by his .195 average over 41 at-bats.

Donaldson went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and two runs in Friday's 9-0 victory over the Yankees.

The slugging third baseman went deep in the eighth inning off reliever Ben Heller, his second homer in the last three days. Donaldson now has hits in three straight, a sign he may be emerging from what had been a two-week-plus slump. Despite his modest stretch of success, he's enduring the worst month of the season, hitting .183 with the aforementioned pair of round-trippers and three RBI.

Moncada remains in the running for starting time at third base late in the season, and John Farrell referred to the position as "a spot that can further be grabbed," Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Despite the fact that Moncada hasn't started a game since Sept. 6 and has logged just two at-bats since, Red Sox manager John Farrell is keeping him in mind. " ... that's why Moncada came here," Farrell said. "We're looking for production at third base to continue to climb." Needless to say, Farrell has not been wowed by the inconsistent bunch that includes Travis Shaw, Aaron Hill, and Brock Holt.

Bregman ran Thursday for the first time since suffering the hamstring injury, Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Thursday's activity represented a positive step forward for Bregman and he said he felt "fine" afterward, but the 22-year-old acknowledged that he is still without a timetable. With just 10 days remaining in the regular season (after Thursday), there's little reason for optimism in regard to Bregman's chances to play again in 2016, but a return has not been officially ruled out. General manager Jeff Luhnow said earlier this week that Bregman's injury typically requires 4-to-6 weeks of recovery time.

Longoria went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in a 14-4 loss at the hands of the Yankees.

Longoria has been white hot the past week, hitting four home runs in his last seven games. He now has 36 home runs on the season, extending his career high. Longoria also has 95 RBI, the most since 2011 when he hit 99.

Arenado went 2-for-3 with a grand slam, two runs and a walk in the 11-1 victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday.

The homer moves him back into first place with 39 bombs in the National League, one ahead of Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant. Arenado also leads the NL with 128 RBI and nobody is even within 20 RBI of him. He is also hitting .294 with 111 runs and two stolen bases.

Ramirez went 3-for-3 with a walk, three doubles, one RBI and scored a run in Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Ramirez has now hit safely in 17 of 19 games this month, pushing his average to .315, its highest mark since June 6, and good for seventh-best in the AL. Furthermore, the 24-year-old's 22 stolen bases this year ranks fifth in the AL, while his 42 doubles are fourth-best in all of MLB. Ramirez has been tearing it up all season, and the third baseman is showing no signs of slowing down as the 2016 campaign nears the end.

Asuaje's contract was selected from Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.

He was named the Pacific Coast League's Rookie of the Year after leading all Triple-A players this season with 172 hits and being tied for first with teammate Manuel Margot with 98 runs scored. He hit .321/.378/.473 with nine home runs and 10 steals (in an extreme hitting environment), playing primarily second base while also seeing time at third base and left field. It remains to be seen if his slight 5-foot-9, 160-pound frame will allow him to barrel big league pitching, but given the Padres' lack of quality infield depth, he should get a chance to prove himself over the rest of the season and in the first half of 2017.