MLB Player News

Duffy has been activated by the Rays on Friday.

Duffy, who has been on the DL since June 20, will make his Rays debut this weekend against Yankees. Duffy was traded to Tampa Bay in the deal that sent Matt Moore to the Giants. On the season, Duffy was hitting .253/.313/.358 in 257 at-bats with the Giants. The 25-year-old will most likely play first base for the time being with Logan Morrison currently on the 15-day DL.

Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored during Thursday's win against the Angels.

Ramirez has been one of MLB's hottest hitters in August, posting a ridiculous .459 batting average with almost as many doubles (4) as strikeouts (5). The 23-year-old is also currently riding a 15-game hitting streak and has seen his average rise to .309.

Moncada (ankle) returned to the lineup Thursday at Double-A Portland, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Boston's top prospect suffered a Grade 1 ankle sprain last week and missed a handful of games, but the injury has healed to the point where he's well enough to return to the lineup. Moncada has slashed .285/.359/.540 with eight home runs and eight steals since being promoted to Double-A.

Escobar is not in the lineup for game two of the doubleheader against the Astros on Thursday.

Escobar played at short for the day game, going 2-for-4 with two strikeouts, and will get the nightcap off. In his place, Jorge Polanco slides over to shortstop while batting sixth.

Duffy (Achilles) will be activated by the Rays on Friday, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy completed his final rehab game for Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, and after going 5-for-17 at the plate over a five-game rehab stint, the team determined the infielder is ready to join them at the big league level. During that rehab assignment, Duffy played all five games at shortstop, the spot he'll presumably take over upon his return to the majors. The Rays have a team day off Thursday, but Duffy should be on the roster by the time they open a three-game set against the Yankees on Friday.

Alvarez is not in Wednesday's lineup against Oakland, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Alvarez will get the day off after three consecutive starts, with the Orioles deploying a right-handed heavy lineup against southpaw Ross Detwiler. Matt Wieters will occupy the DH spot in his absence, batting seventh.

Duffy (Achilles) will make another rehab appearance for Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The newly-acquired shortstop went 2-for-3 with a walk in his second appearance for Durham on Tuesday, following a 3-for-6 showing over two games with High-A Charlotte last Thursday and Friday. Duffy's ascension to the big league club appears imminent, with Wednesday's contest potentially serving as his final one in the minors before a call-up.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBI, stole a base and scored a run in Tuesday's victory over the Nationals.

Nationals' starter Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Francisco Lindor singled with one out to break it up. One batter later, locked in a scoreless tie, Ramirez roped an RBI double off the wall in right-center to open the scoring. Two pitches later, the 23-year-old swiped third for his 13th stole base of the season, and on the subsequent pitch, Ramirez scored on a single by Lonnie Chisenhall to give his team a 2-0 lead. In a matter of four pitches, the switch-hitting infielder changed the entire complexion of the game by putting his full array of talents on display. Ramirez is now riding a 13-game hitting streak in which he's logged eight multi-hit efforts en route to raising his average to .305, its highest mark since June 11.

Plouffe (ribs) is back in the lineup Monday against the Astros.

As expected, Plouffe has been activated from the disabled list and will return to the lineup for the first time in more than a month. The veteran, who was dealing with a cracked rib, recently completed a rehab assignment at Triple-A Rochester, which included playing at both first base and third base over the weekend. He'll start at third base and bat fifth in the order behind cleanup man Miguel Sano on Monday.

Machado homered in three straight at-bats during the first three innings of Sunday's 10-2 thrashing of the White Sox.

He went 0-for-3 the rest of the day, but that may have simply been an act of mercy on Machado's part. His seven RBI set a new single-game career high while he became just the second player in MLB history to hit home runs in each of the first three innings of a game, the first being Carl Reynolds of the White Sox back in 1930.