MLB Player News

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe hit his second home run of the season Monday during an 8-2 win over the Angels. He went deep in the fourth inning for a solo shot off starter Joe Blanton. 

Plouffe finished the game 2 for 4 and added his third double. Batting .256, Plouffe recorded just his second multi-hit game of the year. He has four RBI. 

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria finally produced his first extra-base hit of the season Monday at Boston. Longoria tied the game at one in the fourth inning with his first homer of the season.

It ended Longoria's longest season-opening stretch without a homer at 11 games and was just the fifth homer by the Rays. But Longoria has reached base in every game this season. He's batting .300 (12 for 40) with four RBI.

There's one thing quite evident about Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez's poor start -- he's not making much contact. Alvarez has struck out 15 times in 11 games and Fantasy owners are fed up, dumping Alvarez onto waivers.

While it's frustrating to watch Alvarez mired in another cold streak, I don't think Fantasy owners should be dropping the 26-year-old infielder. You are going to have to deal with a high strikeout rate from Alvarez, but you are dropping him when he has a .086 batting average. How much worse can it really get? You have already lived through the horror. You are going to miss reaping all the rewards.

I'm confident a positive market correction is due because Alvarez has a 22.5 swinging strike percentage, which is well above his career average (13.6 percent), according to FanGraphs.com. His plate discipline numbers are all out of whack and Alvarez should eventually come back to his career norms, so there's plenty of room to improve here.

If anything, take Alvarez out of active lineups, but I can't condone dropping a potential 30-homer bat just yet.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez had another quiet night at the plate Saturday against the Reds. He went 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a walk in the 3-1 win.

Alvarez is batting .086 with 15 strikeouts in 35 at-bats.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura has gotten off to a hot start with the bat this season as he entered Saturday's game against the Cardinals batting .429 with a .679 slugging percentage.

After batting .258 in 45 games in the majors last season, the 23-year-old told MLB.com he came into the campaign with high expectations.

"I just wanted to get better," he said. "Maybe get my average up near the top."

Along with Segura playing solid defense, manager Ron Roenicke said he has been impressed with Segura's offense.

"He's really played well for a long period of time going back to winter ball and spring training," Roenicke said. "He's got tremendous range and a great arm. He can make some plays that not too many guys can make. His defense is already great and offensively, he's just going to get better. We'll see, but we're happy with what we have so far."

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Saturday that third baseman Evan Longoria will bat third against left-handed starting pitchers, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Maddon still likes him fourth against right-handed pitchers. 

Longoria, who is batting .345 this year over 29 at-bats but has yet to pick up an extra-base hit with just three RBI, is a career .267 hitter in the No. 3 spot. That said, he's spent far and away more time hitting third than any other position in the order. 

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson hit a walk-off solo home run in the 12th inning to give his team a 4-3 win over the Tigers Friday night. It was the second home run of the season for Donaldson, who also scored two runs and doubled for the third time this year in his five at-bats.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado enjoyed his third multi-hit game of the season during Friday's series opener against the Yankees.

Machado singled in a run in the third inning and reached on an infield single in the sixth. He finished 2 for 4 with an RBI in a 5-2 defeat.

Machado, who started the season 5 for 26, is now 7 for 17 with a double, three runs scored, a home run and four RBI in his last four games. He is hitting .279/.326/.395 through his first 10 games.

Through 10 games, the Athletics' Josh Donaldson is hitting .231 with a .627 OPS. Not so impressive, but what did you expect from a guy who hit .241 with a .687 OPS last year?

But it's never that simple, is it? The truth is we saw two Donaldsons last year: one who hit .153 with a .395 OPS over his first 28 games and one who hit .290 with an .844 OPS over his final 47, after a couple trips back to the minors.

In a tale-of-two-seasons situation, I tend to trust the one we saw last, particularly if it's the larger sample, so you can bet I'm watching to see where Donaldson's three straight two-hit games lead.

Hey, with Chase Headley, Aramis Ramirez, Hanley Ramirez and Brett Lawrie hurt, and Mike Moustakas and Lonnie Chisenhall not meeting expecations, third base is a position of need right now.

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson received praise for his strong defensive play.

Manager Bob Melvin said though Donaldson has had a rough start at the plate, his defense has been tremendous.

Melvin added that Donaldson's performance has not gone unnoticed. While defense isn't a fantasy factor in most leagues, the fact that Melvin is satisfied with what Donaldson has done could indicate that he'll have a longer leash if he continues to struggle at the plate.