MLB Player News

Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez went 2 for 3 with his 25th homer Sunday against the Dodgers.

His .786 OPS now sits just below his career best of .788, set in his rookie season of 2010. Alvarez has hit homers in three of his last five games and continues to platoon at first base with right-handed hitters Michael Morse and Aramis Ramirez.

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon will return to third base in 2016, The Washington Post reports. He'll have dual second base-third base eligibility in most leagues anyway, but Rendon is a better option defensively at third compared to Yunel Escobar.

Injuries have held Rendon to a .278/.360/.380 slash line in 68 games this season, but he's hitting .317/.397/.450 over the last month with four home runs, 16 RBI and 26 runs scored, providing a much better picture of his upside.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe went 1 for 4 with a solo homer in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Angels.

Plouffe's hitting streak has reached 10 games, and he is on pace to match or exceed his 2015 monthly high of five homers, set back in May. The third baseman also retains a chance at matching his career-high of 24 round-trippers set in 2012, and his solo shot on Saturday catapulted him past 80 RBI for the first time in his major-league tenure.

Indians third baseman Giovanny Urshela, who sat for the second straight game Saturday, is nursing a shoulder injury that figures to limit his playing time down the stretch, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Urshela isn't doing much good when he is in the lineup, hitting just .222 with six homers on the season, and figures to sit more often than not in the final weeks of the season.

Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez is out of the lineup Saturday against the Dodgers.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle will give Mike Morse a turn at first base with lefty Clayton Kershaw hurling for the Dodgers. Alvarez is 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts for his career against Kershaw.

Indians third baseman Giovanny Urshela is out of the lineup Saturday against the White Sox.

Urshela is sitting for the second consecutive night, as manager Terry Francona has elected to give Chris Johnson the start at third base. The rookie has had a tough go in his first exposure to the majors, posting an on-base percentage of .278 and providing only 14 extra-base hits in 257 at-bats. He could lose more time to Johnson and Jose Ramirez at the hot corner over the final two weeks of the regular season.

Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado went 3 for 4 with an RBI, a steal and two runs scored in a win over San Diego on Friday.

It was only his second steal of the season, but it just adds to his impressive resume. The young third baseman is not only the best fielder at his position in the league, he very well may be the best hitter at his position. Arenado now maintains a .286 average to go along with 39 homers and 112 RBI in 143 games this season. He is not in the MVP discussion, but with numbers like those and the defense he provides, he probably should be.

Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia had a monstrous game on Friday, as he went 3 for 3 with two homers, a walk, and three RBI in a 4-3 win over the Astros.

It was shocking to see the Blue Jays designate Valencia for assignment in early August, so the A's came in and swooped him for the future. Valencia has put together a very nice season, as he has a .288 average to go along with 16 homers and 60 RBI in just 295 at-bats. Most fantasy circles think of Valencia as a lefty-killer, but he actually has better numbers off righties this season and he's shown his versatility all season long.

Braves second baseman Jace Peterson is not in the lineup Friday against the Phillies.

It will be the fourth day off in five games for Peterson, as the second baseman has struggled in the month of September to the tune of a .186/.255/.256 slash line in the month. Daniel Castro will get the start at the keystone Friday, batting second.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura went 1 for 4 with a three-run homer against the Cardinals on Thursday.

He's picked up extra-base knocks in three of the last four games, but that doesn't add a lot of shine to what's been another bad season for Segura. It was hoped that last year was an anomaly because of personal and injury issues, plus something of a sophomore slump, but this season may be proving that 2013 was in fact the outlier, as Segura has achieved only mild improvements in his statistics.