MLB Player News

Urshela went 3-for-5 with three singles in Monday's win over the Red Sox.

Urshela posted his second consecutive multi-hit performance Monday after failing to have one in the first seven games of the year. The hot stretch has lifted his batting average from .167 to .296 on the season. If Urshela can keep the average up, he could have a strong 2022 campaign hitting in the heart of the Twins' batting order.

The Astros optioned Perez to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Perez was up with the Astros for the weekend series in Seattle, but he didn't see any action Friday through Sunday. With Yordan Alvarez (illness) making his return from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of Monday's game against the Angels, Perez was the logical choice to move off the 28-man active roster.

Senzel (illness) has not tested positive for COVID-19 and will travel to San Diego on his own for the Reds' next series against the Padres, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "He has not been diagnosed with COVID," manager David Bell said, "but we're allowed to put him on (the COVID-19 injured list) until we make sure of that."

It appears that Senzel could return to action in the near future. Bell further clarified that there are no signs that Senzel is dealing with vertigo, which plagued him earlier in his minor-league career.

LeMahieu went 2-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's loss to Baltimore.

The Yankees managed only three hits in the contest, and LeMahieu was responsible for half of them. The base knocks extended the veteran infielder's modest hitting streak to five games, during which he is batting .444 (8-for-18) with a pair of doubles. LeMahieu has no homers and only one RBI over that stretch, but his hot streak is a positive sign after he started the campaign going 1-for-10 over his first four contests.

Rafaela is hitting .395/.422/.861 with five homers, 11 RBI and four steals through nine games with High-A Greenville.

That sure is a lot of power from a guy who's listed as a scrawny 5-foot-8, 152 pounds. Rafaela flashed some pop (10 homers) and terrific base-stealing ability (23-for-26) in Low-A last year, but his start to this season has been a real attention grabber -- especially after he impressed in major-league spring training. Moreover, the Sox have tried him out at almost every position between last season and this one, and he's excelled defensively all over the field, which will make it easy for him to find his way up to the big team sometime in the next couple years if he keeps hitting the ball with authority.

Madrigal went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Sunday's win over the Rockies.

Madrigal only recorded one hit through his first four games but has bounced back admirably and is now riding a three-game hitting streak, going 6-for-13 (.462) in the process. Plus, he has knocked extra-base hits in each of his last two contests as well. The second baseman seems to be turning things around following a dreadful start to the campaign.

McMahon went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Cubs.

McMahon took Michael Rucker yard in the seventh inning to record his first home run of the season. It's been a relatively quiet start to the season for McMahon, though he has now collected at least one hit and one run in each of his last three starts. Overall, he has seven knocks across 33 plate appearances while driving in four and scoring six runs.

Duffy went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI in Sunday's win over the Rangers.

Duffy recorded his second multi-hit game and his first extra-base hit of the season, and he's making the most of his opportunities at the plate. He's hit .389 (7-for-18) to begin the season while holding a part-time role.

Bregman went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout Sunday against the Mariners.

Bregman was hitless for his fourth consecutive game, though he has walked four times across 16 plate appearances in that same span. While it's generally too early to panic about early season slumps, Bregman has also yet to register an extra-base hit on the campaign. Positively, he's striking out at a 14 percent clip -- in line with his career norms -- so hits should start to fill in.

Urshela will start at third base and bat third in Monday's game against the Red Sox, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Urshela will pick up his third straight start at the hot corner with the lefty-hitting Luis Arraez taking a seat against Boston southpaw Rich Hill. Arraez's ability to play multiple positions should continue to allow Urshela to pick up occasional starts against right-handed pitching, too, but the 30-year-old hasn't done much in a small sample of 24 plate appearances to warrant much excitement. He's hitting .227 with a home run, no stolen bases, three runs and two RBI in eight games.