MLB Player News

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez was out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Brewers with a right-hander on the mound.

Manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the 26-year-old sat due to the matchup. Alvarez has gone 0 for 15 in his career against Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo.

"I've watched him go against (Gallardo) for two straight years, and this is the third year," Hurdle said. "We'll try something different."

It was his first time sitting against a righty since June 5, 2012.

Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar muscled up on Wednesday during a loss to the White Sox. Escobar hit his second home run of the year. 

Escobar took starter Dylan Axelrod deep in the second inning with one out for a solo shot. He went 1 for 4 in the game and is batting .298. 

The 24-year-old infielder has just three hits in his last 10 games after starting the year out red hot for Minnesota. 

Nationals third base prospect Anthony Rendon has thrived since his demotion to the minors a few weeks back. In his first 11 games since returning to Double-A Harrisburg, Rendon is batting .436 (17 for 39) with two home runs, six doubles, nine walks and nine RBI.

"I didn't think that getting sent down was a negative," Rendon said, per MLB.com. "Honestly, not that I didn't care, but I knew my stint wasn't going to be that long under the circumstances, so I wanted to make the best of it while I was there. And then I came back here and kept doing the same thing I was doing."

Rendon's slash line through 25 games is .356/.496/.609/1.105. He's added four home runs, 10 doubles and 16 RBI, while recording more walks (23) than strikeouts (18).

"Tremendous talent. It's fun to watch," Harrisburg manager Matt LeCroy said. "I think he's got a little bit more confidence coming down and realizing how difficult the game is up there and then you come down here and it's not as hard. To his credit, he's worked hard, he's developed a routine from Day 1, and it's carried over. He's started seeing the rewards for his work."

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson went 4 for 5 in Tuesday's loss to Texas.

Donaldson doubled twice and scored a run but somehow managed to avoid even a single RBI. Donaldson is now hitting .315 after he had just a .241 mark last year. His strikeout rate has also been slashed from 20.7 percent to 15.5 percent, which suggests there's a chance some of this improvement could stick for the rest of the season.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura has been providing immense value all season long with his bat, and now his legs are starting to catch up. Segura has five stolen bases in his last four games, while also batting 10 of 19 with two home runs.

Reports came out Tuesday that the Brewers are already looking to lock up Segura long-term, despite having just 320 plate appeareances at the major-league level by which to judge him. The fact that the team is so sold on him should be a good sign for those Fantasy owners who are wondering if his hot start is for real.

Segura is being helped out by a .376 batting average on balls in play, and his seven home runs are just three shy of matching his highest total in the minors, so there are definite signs that this is an outlier. On the other hand, he is barely striking out and has a very high 21.6 percent line drive rate, so a .300-plus batting average seems sustainable. If he can trade his power surge for an increased reliance on his speed, Fantasy owners will take that. At this point, Segura is looking like one of the best shortstops in the game. 

The Rockies sent DJ LeMahieu to the minors at the end of spring training in order for the 24-year-old to see regular playing time at shortstop. The club views him as an insurance policy in case Troy Tulowitzki gets injured, MLB.com reports.

LeMahieu has batted .360 with one homer, 22 RBI and a .511 slugging percentage in 32 games for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

"He's a big league player," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday. "He's handled it well, it sounds like. He's showing that he can play there, too."

The Brewers reportedly offered Jean Segura a contract extension in early April, according to FoxSports.com.

Segura's agent Joe Klein said the team contacted him about a long-term deal, and that the ball is in his court now. Klein admitted it's tough to figure out a fair deal for someone with a small amount of playing time. He added that it would be good if Segura and the team came to an agreement, but classified negotiations as "way on the drawing board."

Segura has certainly helped his cause this season. He's currently hitting .368/.412/.588 in 136 at-bats.

When Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was a standout high school player in Miami, he elicited comparisons to another phenom who hailed from South Florida: Alex Rodriguez. The parallels continued when Machado was selected as the third overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft; Rodriguez had been chosen first by the Mariners in 1993.

Naturally, the two paths of their major-league careers will be analyzed and it appears Machado, who was roughly 13 months older than A-Rod at the time of his debut, holds a slight edge approaching his 100th game. According to the Baltimore Sun, through the first 89 games of their careers, Machado has more runs scored (52 to 38), doubles (22-18), homers (12-11), RBI (50-44) and a higher batting average (.294-.253).

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura stole three bases Monday against the Pirates.

Segura singled in his first three plate appearances of the night, and swiped second after each hit. Though he was on base three times, Segura did not score any runs. He's hitting .368/.412/.588 in 136 at-bats. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took home AL player of the week honors Monday after he managed a seven-game hitting streak from April 6-12. Longoria hit .464 (13 for 28) with three home runs, four walks, five doubles, eight runs and 11 RBI in that span.