MLB Player News

Escobar (hamstring) is out of the lineup Thursday against the Rangers, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Even though Escobar isn't in the starting lineup, he will still be available to pinch hit. Escobar is medically cleared but will remain out for Thursday's game, which will mark his fifth straight game out of the lineup.

Bregman has played solely shortstop since being promoted to Triple-A, as the Astros want him to feel comfortable against the pitching at the new level without having to worry about learning a new position at the same time, the Houston Chronicle's Jake Kaplan reports.

General manager Jeff Luhnow admitted that Bregman will move to third base for Triple-A Fresno in the near future, as he has clearly had little trouble adjusting to the pitching at the highest level of the minors. He is slashing .400/.438/.900 with four homers in 30 at-bats since the promotion, and his season line across Double-A and Triple-A is a preposterous .308/.418/.598. Obviously Bregman would be the internal replacement at shortstop if something happened to Carlos Correa, but more than likely he will slot in as the team's long-term third baseman. It's a matter of when, not if, the Astros will promote Bregman to the big leagues, so he should be rostered in most formats at this point.

Alvarez (personal) will be activated from the bereavement list Friday, MASN Sports reports.

The move was confirmed after the Orioles optioned Dariel Alvarez following Thursday's game. Alvarez has been out since Monday. The Orioles get a break Thursday following a west coast swing, so Alvarez will get one more day off. He figures to enter the lineup right away Friday against Angels starter Matt Shoemaker.

Escobar (hamstring) will be available off the bench for Wednesday's game against Oakland, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Escobar has missed the last four games with a strained hamstring, but the fact that he will be available is a good sign that he will avoid the DL. He should still be considered day-to-day in advance of a four-game series against the Rangers that starts Thursday.

Escobar (hamstring) remains out of the lineup Wednesday against the A's, Brandon Warne of Cold Omaha reports.

Wednesday will mark the fourth straight absence for Escobar, who continues to deal with a hamstring strain sustained during Saturday's game. The Twins are hoping he'll avoid a DL stint as the All-Star break approaches, so Escobar should be considered day-to-day until further notice.

Valencia hit his 12th homer as part of a 2-for-4 game with three RBI Tuesday against the Twins.

Valencia is following up his career year from last season with almost identical production. After a .290/.345/.517 batting line last year, Valencia is now at .310/.359/.512. He set a career high with 18 home runs last season, and at 12 already, he's on pace to set another career high with 23.

Machado homered and walked in a 1-for-4 game with three RBI in Tuesday's win over the Dodgers.

Machado is now back atop the shortstop home run leaderboard, tied with Trevor Story with 19. He also leads the position with 53 RBI and ranks second in runs (59) and batting average (.324). Machado's OPS is up to .970 thanks to Tuesday's effort and he will be in the running for MVP if he can sustain this performance through the second half of the season.

Donaldson went 3-for-4 with two home runs , his 21st and 22nd of the year, and scored four times in Tuesday's win over the Royals.

Fresh off being named a reserve to the AL All-Star team, Donaldson blasted two in one game for the second time this season. He also pushed his average over .300 for the first time since April 18 by notching his 10th hit in the last four games (10-for-15). Donaldson has scored 77 runs, a franchise record for runs before the All-Star break. Carlos Delgado had 76 in 2003.

Escobar (hamstring) remains out of the lineup Tuesday against the A's.

Make it three straight absences for Escobar, who suffered a hamstring strain on a slide into home plate early in Saturday's game. The Twins reportedly view the injury as a day-to-day concern, but it's uncertain if Escobar will be available in any capacity for Wednesday's series finale.

Through five games with Triple-A Fresno, Bregman is 10-for-21 with two doubles, four homers and 11 RBI.

It's a small sample size, but Bregman has a whopping 1.143 slugging percentage and 1.665 OPS with the Grizzlies. He's not going to overtake Carlos Correa as the Astros' starting shortstop and Luis Valbuena has hit .303 over the last 30 days at third base, but if Bregman continues to rake like this, Houston may have no choice but to find at-bats for him before their playoff push.