MLB Player News

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (knee) fielded grounders and did some side-to-side drills Friday, manager Matt Williams said. There is still no timetable for Rendon's activation off the 15-day disabled list.

Braves infielder Phil Gosselin drew his first start of the season at second base Friday against the Mets. He replaced Jace Peterson, who started the first three games at second base for Atlanta.

Peterson, who won the starting second base job during spring training, is batting .200 (2 for 10) through three games. He has no extra-bat hits and no RBI. He does have two runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar will leave the team after Friday's game against the White Sox to be with his fiancee for birth of their child, according to the the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He is expected to rejoin the club on Sunday.

Escobar is hitting .200 (1 for 5) through three games.

Rockies starting second baseman DJ LeMahieu has hit safely in each of the first three games. He had two hits in each of the first two games.

He is batting .385 (5 for 13) with one RBI and one strikeout. He has no extra-base hits, no runs and no walks.

Indians shortstop Jose Ramirez went 2 for 4 with a walk, a solo home run and two stolen bases in his team's 5-1 win over the Astros Thursday.

Ramirez, the team's starter at shortstop, was 0 for 6 in his first two games before breaking through Thursday, hitting a fifth-inning home run to extend his team's lead to four runs. He'll try to keep rolling this weekend against the Tigers.

Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez went 2 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 3-2 loss to the Reds Thursday.

Alvarez was 1 for 6 with a double in his first two games before putting together a nice offensive showing Thursday. His home run came in the sixth inning and put his team up 2-0, but the Pirates let the lead slip away in the bottom half of the inning. Alvarez has two 30-homer seasons on his resume but hit just .231/.312/.405 with 18 home runs in 398 at-bats last season.

Giants infielder Matt Duffy will start getting work at first base and could possibly be an option to start at the position by Saturday, CSN Bay Area reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy hopes to have Brandon Belt available to resume starting Monday, but it's possible Duffy will see some time at first base in the interim. He's been primarly a shortstop in the minors and hasn't seen any action at first base at any level of his professional career.

The Giants will use Buster Posey at first base Friday, with Hector Sanchez starting behind the plate and catching Tim Lincecum.

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon took a positive step forward in his recovery from an MCL sprain in his left knee. He did some side-to-side agility drills, along with some change of direction workouts. His next step will be modified groundball work, manager Matt Williams told reporters, according to MASN.

"Yesterday, he did a little bit of side-to-side movement, which has been the issue," Williams said. "He's been running straight. He'll start some modified groundball activity, which is just making sure that he's getting into the position he needs too without irritating the area. Yesterday, he did some figure eight stuff where he has to change some direction, which is a good step. We'll evaluate that and go from there.

"The more he can tolerate in that regard, the better. And the more stuff he can do to get into baseball shape, ultimately that's what's most important. It's one of those spots where if he does go side to side or twists on it, it can irritate it. So we want to stay away from that."

After starting the first two games in left field, Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia received a day off Thursday against the Tigers. He was replaced in the starting lineup by infielder Eduardo Escobar.

Arcia is off to a slow start through two games, batting .167 (1 for 6) with three strikeouts. He has no walks or extra-base hits.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's matchup with the Diamondbacks.

Belt left Tuesday's game with a groin injury and was scheduled to undergo an MRI Wednesday. With the first baseman sidelined, catcher Buster Posey will shift to first base and Hector Sanchez will enter the game at catcher.

The Giants will also start Matt Duffy at second base and Justin Maxwell in right field Wednesday, sending Joe Panik and Gregor Blanco to the bench.