MLB Player News

The Twins will be without three regulars in the starting lineup on Saturday. 

Shortstop Danny Santana, left fielder Oswaldo Arcia and center fielder Jordan Schafer are all out of the lineup. 

Eduardo Escobar will start his third game of the year at shortstop, batting eighth in the lineup. 

Eduardo Nunez gets his second start of the year in left, batting sixth. Shane Robinson starts for the sixth time in center, batting ninth. 

The Athletics placed Ben Zobrist on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee injury, the team announced on Saturday. Zobrist has battled the injury for several days and tested the knee at designated hitter on Friday night. 

To replace Zobrist on the roster, the A's called up Max Muncy from Triple-A Nashville. Muncy will make his Major League debut on Saturday, starting at third base and batting seventh for Oakland. 

To make room for Muncy on the 40-man roster, the A's designated pitcher Eury De La Rosa for assignment. 

Zobrist confirmed that he needs surgery on the knee and will be out four-to-six weeks. 

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon reported no issues with his left knee following his first minor-league rehab assignment game on Friday with Double-A Harrisburg.

"Everything is good," Rendon said, per the Washington Post. "Getting back into the swing of things and trying to feel comfortable."

Rendon went 1 for 2 with one double before being lifted after five innings.

"I haven't seen him since the play he got injured on so it was good to see him back out there,"Double-A manager Brian Daubach said. "He had a normal workday. He took infield with the club. He looked good in the game. He looked good on the double. Had a couple plays at third and made the plays. Another step in the right direction and staying on schedule."

Rendon is expected to play at least five days on a rehab assignment. He will play seven innings on Saturday before receiving an off day on Sunday. The team wants him to play a full game before activating him from the disabled list.

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (knee) began a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Friday. He went 1 for 2 with one double before being lifted from the game.

Rendon is expected to play at least five days on a rehab assignment.

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and two RBI as his team was able to complete a sweep of the Orioles with a 7-6 victory Thursday.

Donaldson's two-run homer capped a three-run third inning, and the Blue Jays were able add on three more runs in the fourth inning and another in the fifth, the last of which proving to be crucial after the Orioles scored six runs in the final four innings. The third baseman has hit .349/.400/.635 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 63 at-bats.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBI in his team's 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays Thursday.

The Orioles found themselves down 7-0 after five innings, but Machado kickstarted the comeback with a solo home run in the sixth. After an RBI single brought the score to 7-3 in the ninth, the third baseman knocked his second home run of the game to cut the deficit to one run. However, that's as far as the Orioles were able to come, and the Blue Jays managed to complete the series sweep with the win.

"I'm just taking it day by day, one at-bat to the next," Machado said after the game, per MLB.com. "Forget about if I started off slow, if I started off hot, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, we still have 700 at-bats left. You gotta keep grinding every day."

Machado has hit .218/.281/.418 with three home runs, 11 RBI and two stolen bases in 55 at-bats.

Phillies third baseman Cody Asche went 1 for 3 with a solo home run in his team's 6-1 loss to the Marlins Wednesday.

Asche has swung a hot bat in the early going, and he's delivered a .340/.392/.511 line with two home runs and three RBI in 47 at-bats over his first 14 games. His home run evened the game in the second inning and the two teams stayed tied until the Marlins broke through with a run on a balk in the seventh inning. Asche will look to stay hot as the team's wrap up the series in a day game Thursday.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and left fielder Corey Dickerson returned to the starting lineup Wednesday night against San Diego.

Wrist soreness kept Arenado sidelined since Sunday, while Dickerson has been battling plantar fasciitis since spring training. Dickerson, who made a pinch-hit appearance on Tuesday, is hitting .280 (14 for 50) with two homers, 10 RBI and a .308 on-base percentage in 14 games. Arenado has a hit in each of his last five games. He is hitting .311 (14 for 45) with three homers and 10 RBI in 12 games.

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg. The plan is for ramp up from five to nine innings over the next five days with the Senators, per Comcast SportsNet Washington.

Rendon, who finished fifth in NL MVP voting last season, started the year on the 15-day disabled list with left MCL sprain.

Manager Matt Williams said he plans to have Rendon play third when he's activated from the disabled list. Yunel Escobar has been filling in for the Nationals' while Rendon remains sidelined.

"Right now, we're gonna play him at third," Williams said, per the Washington Post.

Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco and first baseman Pedro Alvarez are back in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Cubs, the team announced.

Polanco got the day off Tuesday with Sean Rodriguez getting the start in right. Polanco is hitting .250 with four doubles and three RBI in 52 at-bats this season. Alvarez got his first day off of the season Tuesday, allowing Corey Hart to take over at first. Alvarez is hitting .227 with four home runs and seven RBI in 44 at-bats this season.

The Pirates are currently the favorites (-110) against Chicago.