MLB Player News

Duffy (heel) took ground balls and batting practice Monday afternoon, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "A good sign," manager Kevin Cash said. "He looked the part. Didn't see any restrictions."

There is no longer hope for Duffy taking the field this season, so Cash's statement is in reference to the shortstop building some momentum heading into the offseason. The 26-year-old is scheduled to play in both instructional league and winter ball during the next few months in the hopes of preparing for what the team and Duffy hope is a spring training without restrictions in 2018.

Devers is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays, Jen McCaffrey of The Springfield Republican reports.

Devers will get the day off against southpaw J.A. Happ after starting 20 straight games at third base and slashing .253/.317/.453 over that span. Eduardo Nunez will take over at the hot corner for the game, batting leadoff.

Plouffe was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Plouffe will rejoin the big club in time to face his old club, the Twins. He's posted a .227/.357/.273 line over seven games since being dropped to Durham. Given his struggles at the big-league level this season -- he's slashing .204/.274/.325 in 89 games between the A's and Rays -- not much should be expected from Plouffe down the stretch.

Segura went 3-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and three runs in Sunday's 10-2 win over the Athletics.

Segura set the table for Robinson Cano perfectly in this one, coming home on three of his teammate's hits. The 27-year-old is off to a blistering start in September after a lackluster August (.229/.302/.314), going 7-for-13 with three doubles, a home run, two RBI, a pair of stolen bases and six runs over the three-game series against the Athletics to kick off the new month.

Plouffe is expected to rejoin the Rays from Triple-A Durham in the coming days, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The veteran slugger has been with the Bulls since Aug. 26, posting a .227/.357/.273 line with a double and one RBI over seven games. Plouffe has struggled at the big-league level with both the Athletics and Rays this season, so fantasy expectations should be tempered, to say the least.

Donaldson went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run during Sunday's loss to Baltimore.

2017 looked like a lost season for Donaldson, but he's now launched 16 bombs through his past 34 games and is up to a .261/.384/.534 slash line for the campaign. It's safe to say that he warrants mention among the elite fantasy bats again.

Escobar went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's loss to Kansas City.

After hitting two homers and driving in six runs Saturday, Escobar was right back at it Sunday. He's penciled into an everyday gig at third base for the duration of Miguel Sano's (shin) absence, and Escobar is capable of providing serviceable fantasy numbers in deeper settings until Sano returns.

Ramirez went 5-for-5 with three doubles, two home runs, three runs scored and three RBI in Sunday's 11-1 rout of the Tigers.

He became the 13th player in MLB history, and the first switch hitter, to smack five extra-base hits in the same game, but he needed a lot of help to do it as both his homers were deflected over the fence by Tigers outfielders. Ramirez now has 22 home runs on the year, doubling last season's previous career high, and his 47 doubles and 89 runs are also new personal bests. Next up is RBI, where he sits just 10 back of his 76 from 2016.

Urshela is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

Urshela had started the last four games at either third base or shortstop, but both Yandy Diaz and Francisco Lindor will handle duties at those respective positions Sunday and still appear to be ahead of Urshela on the depth chart. However, with Urshela having impressed over those four games with five hits and three RBI in 12 at-bats, manager Terry Francona could be motivated to find the 25-year-old semi-regular at-bats in September by taking advantage of Diaz's versatility and deploying him at positions other than the hot corner.

Moncada (leg) hit in the batting cage and fielded grounders Saturday, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Saturday's activity was the first baseball work Moncada has performed since landing on the 10-day disabled list Aug. 25. While he's not expected to be activated when eligible, the initiation of on-field work is a sign he could rejoin the active roster by the end of the week.