MLB Player News

Phillies third baseman Cody Asche has been able to hit in recent days, but his recovery from a strained left hamstring is still moving relatively slowly.

Asche is eligible to return from the disabled list in the next few days, but the team has never expected him to be available immediately. According to MLB.com, he is still more than a week away from being activated. 

The all-or-nothing results produced this season by Cubs third baseman Mike Olt have resulted in more frequent benchings, including the one he received for the Thursday game against the host Mets. Luis Valbuena is set to man the position instead.

Olt has a ridiculous 53 strikeouts in just 133 at-bats, which has played a huge role in his .158 batting average and .253 on-base percentage. But he does have nine home runs and 24 RBI. Twelve of his 21 hits this season have gone for extra bases.

Nationals infielder Anthony Rendon homered again Wednesday, also going 3 for 5 with three RBI in his team's 8-4 win over the Phillies.

Rendon has knocked a home run in three of his last four games while posting multi-hit performances in three of his last five games. He has hit .270/.325/.460 with eight home runs, 32 RBI and three stolen bases in 226 at-bats.

The Padres have optioned Tuesday night spot starter Jesse Hahn to Double-A San Antonio and recalled infielder Jace Peterson from Triple-A El Paso.

Hahn proved unimpressive in his first major league start. He yielded four earned runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings in taking the loss against Pittsburgh.

Peterson is in the starting lineup for the Wednesday night game against the same Pirates. He will play second base in place of the struggling Jedd Gyorko.

Phillies third baseman Cody Asche is eligible to return from the disabled list Saturday - but he won't. He has not fully recovered from a left hamstring injury, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez remained hot Tuesday night in San Diego with a two-run homer in the fourth inning that concluded the scoring in a 4-1 win.

Alvarez has 10 hits in his last 29 at-bats with two homers and six RBI. He has sweentened his stat line to .227/.309/.403.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez made his presence felt at the plate Sunday night, driving in three runs in his team's 5-3 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. 

Alvarez singled in two runs in the opening frame and singled in another run in the sixth inning. He finished 2 for 3 with three RBI. He is hitting .223 with 10 homers and 31 RBI in 202 at-bats.

The only negative for Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon on Saturday was that his consecutive hit streak ended at six when he struck out in the eighth. Other than that, he was sensational.

Rendon slammed a solo homer in the first, singled and scored in the second, singled in the fourth and singled and scored in the sixth as his team blasted Texas. Rendon, who hadn't homered since May 5, has nine hits in his last six games.

Rockies infielder Nolan Arenado will not require surgery to repair a mallet fracture in his left middle finger, the Denver Post reports Friday.

Arenado saw a specialist in Cleveland Friday to determine the best course of action, and it will be allowed to heal naturally. At this point, however, it is not clear what that might mean for his potential timeline to return. He is still expected to miss much of June while recovering.  

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez got the Pirates on the board early Thursday, in a 6-3 win over the Dodgers.

Alvarez had just one hit in the game, a solo home run in the second inning to tie the game, 1-1. He went 1 for 4 overall, with one strikeout in the win.

Alvarez is hitting .221 with 10 home runs on the season, but has been better since he was moved out of the cleanup spot of the order last week. In his last seven games, Alvarez is hitting .280 with two home runs and three RBI.