MLB Player News

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson provided more offense than Oakland needed Wednesday during a 5-0 win over the Reds. 

Donaldson smashed his 12th home run of the season in the fourth inning off starter Homer Bailey for a three-run shot with no outs in the inning. He finished 1 for 3 with three RBI and added a walk in the game. Donaldson is batting .308 for the A's. 

The 27-year-old has homered in back-to-back games now and has three long balls in his last 10 contests with nine RBI over that span. He's up to 51 RBI on the season. 

When DJ LeMahieu inherited the starting job at second base for the Rockies just over a month ago, I doubted he could hold down a regular role. With Josh Rutledge back with the club and filling in at shortstop while Troy Tulowitzki (rib) is on the disabled list, it may still seem like only a matter of time before LeMahieu gets squeezed out of the lineup, particularly when Tulowitzki returns.

Not only is Rutledge struggling, but LeMahieu is making a strong case to hold down the keystone position. Just as he's done in the minors, LeMahieu is hitting for average, batting .291, and he's made good on all nine of his stolen base attempts. There's actually room for LeMahieu to improve his batting average, as he is striking out at a much higher rate than he had in the minors. Meanwhile, he rarely pops out and uses his speed to maintain a high batting average on balls in play. LeMahieu could actually maintain his .351 BABIP and inch his batting average above .300.

Over the last 28 days, LeMahieu ranks 11th among second basemen in standard Rotisserie and Head-to-Head value. Though he doesn't walk or homer much, LeMahieu can continue to help enough with average and steals to be worth starting in far more than 18 percent of the Fantasy leagues on CBSSports.com.

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer off Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo during Tuesday's 7-3 win. He finished 2 for 4 with two runs.

Donaldson, who has a career-high 11 home runs, is batting .333 (11 for 33) with one double, two home runs, four walks, six runs and six RBI in his last nine games.

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Monday the plantar fasciitis in third baseman Evan Longoria's right foot has improved enough for him to play third base on the turf at Tropicana Field, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Longoria was the team's DH for four games from June 13-16 on the team's last homestand because of the injury. He returned to the field for a home game Monday against the Blue Jays. Longoria had played the field in every game of the team's road trip from June 18-23.

"I think he's mellowing a little bit and understanding it's good for him to be able to do that," Maddon said. "I think there was a time that he just did not want to DH, period. A lot of young players don't want to DH because they're baseball players and belong on the field. However, when you play on this stuff here it's a different world, and even if you're chronologically young, this can totally beat down your body and make it old fast."

Rangers infield prospect Mike Olt has slugged seven home runs in 21 games since returning to the lineup at Triple-A Round Rock after missing several weeks dealing with vision problems.

Olt is batting just .250 (20 for 80) in his last 21 games, but he has a .563 slugging percentage and .914 OPS in that span. Olt also has four doubles, 13 walks, 15 RBI and 17 runs since returning to the lineup.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez has been named the National League player of the week. 

Alvarez hit .414 with a .452 on-base percentage. He clubbed four home runs. Alvarez is hitting .237/.303/.513 in 236 at-bats. He's hit 19 home runs. 

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez continued to swing a red-hot bat as he homered for the fourth time in as many days Sunday afternoon against the Angels. 

Alvarez, who was bumped to the No. 3 slot in the order, unleashed a solo home run in the first inning. He added a double and finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI in a 10-9 win in extras.

It Alvarez's his fourth consecutive multi-hit game. He is hitting .563 (9 for 16) with three doubles, four homers and eight RBI during that span. He has hit safely in each of his last eight games. He is hitting .237 with 19 homers and 51 RBI in 236 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon went 2 for 5 with one strikeout and one double Sunday against the Rockies. It was his ninth double.

Rendon had his third multi-hit game in his last four starts and eighth multi-hit game since his early June recall. Rendon is batting .369 (24 for 65) with one home run, five RBI and eight doubles in 16 games since his recall.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado hit his sixth home run of the season in his team's 7-1 win over the Nationals Saturday. It was his only hit in four at-bats.

Arenado has turned things around after a sluggish May, hitting .286/.318/.476 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 84 at-bats this month. Saturday's home run was his second on the road, where he's hit just .234/.273/.340 in 94 at-bats.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez homered and recorded multiple hits for the third consecutive game Saturday against the Angels, going 2 for 4 with a second-inning solo home run. He is 7 for 11 with three homers and seven RBI in his last three games.

Alvarez has put together a seven-game hitting streak while raising his line to .234/.301/.498 in 231 at-bats. His 18 homers are tied for fourth in the National League.