MLB Player News

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson will hit second against the Tigers Tuesday.

Donaldson has been used as a middle-of-the-order hitter lately, but will get a chance to move up in the order. He's hitting .291/.370/.476 in 471 at-bats. Donaldson is facing off against Justin Verlander. 

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado had a three-hit night Monday in a win over the Giants. Arenado went 3 for 4 with three singles in the ballgame.

He didn't drive in any runs from the No. 5 spot in the order, but he did score twice for the Rockies in the 6-1 win. He's batting .269 on the season.

Arenado has gone 5 for 8 in his last two games with a double and three runs scored. He has 43 runs driven in and nine homers on the year over 401 at-bats as a 22-year-old.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria will serve as the club's designated hitter Monday against the Royals. 

Longoria will be replaced by Kelly Johnson at third. Longoria is hitting .276/.351/.526 in 479 at-bats. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria did all he could to beat the Yankees Sunday. It wasn't enough in the 3-2 extra-inning loss. 

Longoria drove in both Tampa Bay runs in the game with his solo homer off Ivan Nova in t he sixth inning and an RBI single in the first. 

The HR was the 28th of the year for Longoria, who finished 2 for 5 with two RBI. He has 71 runs driven in on the year for the Rays. 

Longoria has gone 6 for 13 over his last three contests with a home run in each game and five RBI over that span. 

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado knocked a pair of hits against Miami on Sunday.

Arenado finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI in the victory. He also hit his 23rd double of the season in raising his batting line to .264/.301/.411.

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson homered Sunday during a 10-3 loss at Baltimore. Donaldson went deep in the eighth inning for a two-run blast. 

Donaldson hit his 19th home run Sunday as he finished 1 for 2 with two walks. He drove in two runs and is batting .292. He added his third stolen base of the season. 

The 27-year-old Donaldson has 74 RBI on the year for Oakland. He's homered twice in his last five games with five runs driven in over that stretch. 

Since the second half began, Brewers shortstop Jean Segura is batting .242 (32 for 132), dropping his season average from .325 to .304. He also has just two RBI in his last 22 games and one home run in his last 54 games.

"I feel OK. I'm just struggling a little bit," Segura said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "At some point it's going to happen to every player in baseball. I feel OK. Just go out there and try to do the best I can. Now the team is doing well. I know it's going to come so I'll just keep grinding. I've never had a bad slump in a year. It's not easy hitting .300 in the big leagues, especially facing the same teams in our division. They've got good pitching. I'll just keep grinding and see how I finish."

Segura has appeared in 125 games and started 122 at shortstop. He also played 35 games in the Dominican Winter League and took 60 at-bats in spring training. Segura admits he's started to feel worn down.

"I could give him off days, but he doesn't really want them," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "I try to give him some days here and there. He doesn't seem quite the same. I don't know if it's just fatigue. He was so hot early. I don't know, but we'll try to watch him."

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria went 3 for 4 with a double and his 27th home run in his team's 4-2 win over the Yankees Saturday. It was the second straight game in which Longoria has homered, and he's hit a total of five home runs in his last nine games.

Longoria owns a .274/.350/.521 line with 27 home runs and 69 RBI in 474 at-bats.

Some fun facts about the Orioles' Manny Machado ...

For the season, he ranks ninth at third base in Head-to-Head leagues and 10th in Rotisserie. Since July 1, however, he ranks 17th in Head-to-Head, behind Brett Wallace, a .255-hitting Pablo Sandoval and a hasn't-played-in-three-weeks David Wright, and 21st in Rotisserie, behind Juan Uribe, Donnie Murphy and Matt Dominguez. During that stretch, he's batting .240 with a .633 OPS. He has only 11 extra-base hits after having 44 previously.

No one is questioning his upside. No one would dare doubt the potential of a 21-year-old who has drawn comparisons to Alex Rodriguez. But I can't help but think Machado fooled Fantasy owners into believing he was closer to meeting that upside than he really was. His strong start to the season was mostly the product of a near record-setting doubles pace and a batting average too high for his poor plate discipline to sustain. Both numbers have since normalized.

I'm not saying I'd drop Machado, but I'd go with a hot-hand play like Brett Lawrie or Will Middlebrooks over him right now.

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon is not in the team's lineup against the Cubs Wednesday. 

Rendon will be replaced by Steve Lombardozzi. In 70 games, Rendon is hitting .262/.322/.403 over 263 at-bats.