MLB Player News

Ramirez will bat second as the Indians' left fielder for the second consecutive day Thursday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Ramirez moved out of the infield and into left for Wednesday's contest against the Red Sox and he moved up to second in the order as well. He answered by going 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI, so manager Terry Francona will keep the order the same for Thursday's series finale.

Longoria went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Wednesday's 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays.

The veteran third baseman now has two multi-hit games over the first four contests of the season, and has reached based in three of those outings overall. Although he's only driven in one run so far, Longoria should have plenty of RBI opportunities this season if he continues to slot into the three-hole in the Rays lineup.

Plouffe went 1-for-4 with a sixth-inning solo homer in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

By this point in his career, we pretty much know who Plouffe is as a hitter -- he's got the pop and the lineup slotting to hit 20 homers and clear 80 RBI (which he's done twice in his career already), but is a batting-average liability who won't add any speed. There's a place for those contributions in deeper formats, but if he's starting at third base for you in a 12-team league, that's less than ideal.

Josh Donaldson, who is day to day after exiting with a calf strain in the seventh, accounted for all of the Blue Jays' runs with a three-run homer off Matt Moore in the third inning of Wednesday's loss against the Rays.

Donaldson brought the rain for the second time in his last three games with his homer. According to Statcast, Donaldson's second of the year was projected to travel 386 feet and left his bat at 106 mph. The reining MVP will benefit from a day off Thursday, and expects to be ready to play Friday against the Red Sox.

Manager John Gibbons said that Donaldson has a strained calf and is day-to-day, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports.

Donaldson left Wednesday's game in the seventh inning after limping through a decent chunk of the game, and it appears the calf issue was to blame for the limp. The Blue Jays don't think the ailment is a very big deal, though, which is definitely an encouraging sign that could allow him to get back in the lineup fairly soon. That being said, it would be unlikely that the Blue Jays would push him back to action too hard this early in the season. Thankfully, Toronto has the day off Thursday, so he'll have an extra day to rest prior to Friday's bout with the Red Sox. Donaldson's status should become clearer as game-time approaches Friday.

Donaldson was removed from Wednesday's game versus the Rays in the seventh inning, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports.

Donaldson seemed to be limping a bit earlier in the game, and it appears that there may actually be an issue of some sort. What's wrong is currently unknown, but more information about the possible ailment and severity should come soon. Darwin Barney took over at third base following Donaldson's exit.

Ramirez will bat second and play left field Wednesday against the Red Sox, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Ramirez played some outfield in the spring and after sitting out the team's opener, Ramirez will get a chance to make the start in left Wednesday. Ramirez fares better against righties and with the right-handed Buchholz on the mound, he'll get the call over Collin Cowgill while Marlon Byrd slides over to right field to make room for him.

Bregman will open 2016 with Double-A Corpus Christi, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Bregman hit .294/.366/.415 with four home runs, 34 RBI and 13 stolen bases over 66 games between Low-A Quad Cities and High-A Lancaster last season. The second overall pick of the 2015 draft, he will likely spend the majority of his first full professional season with the Hooks.

Moustakas will bat second against the Mets on Tuesday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

It appears as though the two-hole will be Moustakas' primary spot in the batting order, as expected. Moustakas went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Sunday's opener, but he reached on an error in the first inning and came around to score the Royals' first run of the season. The 27-year-old went 18-for-54 (.333 average) with five doubles, three home runs and a 3:7 BB:K during Cactus League play.

Donaldson went 1-for-3 with his first homer of the year and a walk in Monday's road win over the Rays.

The Jays' MVP third baseman did that 41 times last year, and while that may be tough to replicate, Donaldson's a good bet to get into the 30s again. After his three-strikeout effort in the opener, any Donaldson owner whose heart was inexplicably aflutter has to feel soothed by this game.