MLB Player News

Uh-oh. The Athletics' Josh Donaldson is batting .186 (8 for 43) over his last 12 games. Guess this is the beginning of the end, right?

Well, it is his longest cold stretch of the season, but not by as much as you'd think.

In June, he had a 10-game stretch in which he hit .146 (6 for 41). In late April and early May, he had an eight-game stretch in which he hit .179 (5 for 28). At the very beginning of the season, before anyone knew what they had in Donaldson, he hit .120 (3 for 25) in seven games.

In other words, it seems scary because it's happening right now and because you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with him, but to me, Donaldson's little cold spell is much ado about nothing. His .299 batting average and 24 homers in 545 at-bats since his return from the minor leagues last August counts for so much more.

Jean Segura's 5-for-30 skid to begin the second half isn't such a big deal on its own, but it has shed light on just how much the Brewers shortstop has fallen off since the end of May, when he was batting .354. In 47 games dating back to June 1, which is about half the season so far, he's batting just .269 with 11 extra-base hits (three homers, five doubles and three triples), 15 steals and a .674 OPS.

Scary stuff, right?

No, not really. See, even with the inevitable regression in batting average and home runs, stealing a base every third game adds up to some serious Fantasy production for Segura. During that 47-game stretch in which he's batting .269 with a .674 OPS, he's still the third-best shortstop in standard Head-to-Head leagues.

Granted, the shortage of quality shortstops has something to do with that, but even among all hitters, he still ranks a respectable 43rd during that stretch. Considering his pedigree makes him out to be a .300 hitter in the long run, you should continue to think of him as an elite Fantasy option.

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is hitting second again Thursday against the Red Sox.

Longoria was moved to the two-spot Wednesday, and it appears to be a trend now. Longoria is hitting .276/.354/.515 in 373 at-bats. He'll take on John Lackey during Thursday's contest.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his 26th home run of the season in his team's 4-2 win over the Nationals Wednesday. It was the only hit of the game for Alvarez, who also walked once and scored two runs.

Alvarez has homered in two straight games, putting him just four home runs away from matching last year's career high of 30 home runs. He has hit .244/.302/.509 in 328 at-bats.

The Orioles optioned utility player and designated hitter Danny Valencia back to Triple-A Norfolk Wednesday to clear roster space for the addition of Francisco Rodriguez, MLB.com reports. Valencia, batting .200 overall this season, has been mired in an ugly 0-for-22 slump. 

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon will make his first major-league start at shortstop Wednesday against the Pirates.

Rendon has primarily been used as a second baseman in the majors, but came up as a third baseman and played some shortstop during spring training. Rendon is hitting .273/.325/.415 in 183 at-bats. 

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hit his eighth home run in a loss Tuesday against Kansas City. 

Machado is off to a slow start in the second half, as the home run was his first extra-base hit to go with a .217 average in the first five games. Machado led the league with 39 doubles in the first half, and he could become an even scarier offensive force if some of those doubles turn into home runs down the stretch. He has a .305/.333/.463 line on the season.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told MLB.com Tuesday that Logan Schafer will see the bulk of the action in left field following Ryan Braun's suspension. Schafer will hit second, while shortstop Jean Segura will bat third for the Brewers.

"I know Segura doesn't want to hit third every day," said Roenicke. "He told me he's fine with doing it once in a while. He may be hitting third every day. He's handled it well. I like what it does with the lineup. If Schafer is second, I like where it puts [catcher Jonathan] Lucroy fourth and [center fielder Carlos Gomez] fifth. Then it depends on who's hot after that and whether Schafer stays hot in that second spot."

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura doubled Monday against the Padres to extend his hitting streak to nine games. Segura also drove in two runs and scored once.

Segura is batting .361 (13 for 36) with two doubles, two RBI, two walks, six runs and three stolen bases in his last nine games. Segura's longest hitting streak this season was 12 games (June 16-29).

The Cubs will keep recently acquired infield prospect Mike Olt at Triple-A Iowa until he regains his swing, according to MLB Network. Olt, who was acquired in the Matt Garza trade Monday, hit .213 in 65 games for Triple-A Round Rock.

Olt, who was battling vision problems earlier this season, hit .288 with 28 home runs and 82 RBI in 95 games for Double-A Frisco in 2012.