MLB Player News

LeMahieu is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

The reigning batting champion is off to an ice-cold start to begin the 2017 season (2-for-23) and will receive the day off Sunday. He will be replaced by Alexi Amarista.

Arenado went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored during Saturday's 4-2 win over the Dodgers.

Arenado crushed a 433-foot home run off Clayton Kershaw in the bottom of the first inning and singled in the sixth before a Mark Reynolds long ball brought him around to score. Though the star third baseman seemed out of sync during the World Baseball Classic, he has looked anything but to start the MLB campaign, collecting at least one hit in all six games for a .364 average to go along with a pair of homers, six runs scored and three RBI.

Peterson is starting in left field and batting eighth, replacing Matt Kemp (hamstring) during Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Kemp will miss his second straight game with hamstring tightness, so Peterson gets the chance to man left field Sunday against Gerrit Cole and the Pirates. Kemp is expected to be back in the lineup Tuesday, so Peterson's starting services won't be needed for long.

Plouffe was a late scratch Saturday due to an illness, the East Bay Times' John Hickey reports.

Mark Canha will take over as the DH batting eighth while Ryon Healy moves from DH to third base. Make sure to take Plouffe out of all daily lineups Saturday.

Moustakas is not in the lineup Saturday against Houston.

After starting the first four games of the season, Moustakas will take a seat Saturday as the Royals go with Cheslor Cuthbert at third base. Moustakas is 5-for-17 with two solo home runs thus far in 2017.

Chapman left Friday's game for Triple-A Nashville with a wrist injury that occurred on a check swing, the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reports.

He missed much of the 2015 season with a wrist injury, and is expected to be re-evaluated Saturday. A's director of player development Keith Lieppman described the injury as a "tweaked" wrist, but it's possible he injured his hamate bone, which could result in his power being sapped somewhat this season. Chapman's swing-and-miss issues are well known, and he had six strikeouts in seven at-bats through two games prior to the injury.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a three-run blast, his first of the season, in Friday's 6-5 win over the Yankees.

Machado's first big fly gave the 24-year-old his first RBI and run scored of the young campaign. He also struck out three times, something the third baseman did in just four games all of last season.

Moncada has seven hits in 11 at-bats over his first two games at Triple-A Charlotte, but White Sox manager Rick Renteria is not thinking about having him up with Chicago, Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune reports. "For me to start thinking that far ahead wouldn't be prudent," said the manager.

It's only natural for speculation to pick up as the organization's top prospect gets off to such a hot start, but the club has preached patience during this rebuilding year. General manager Rick Hahn has been adamant about not rushing Moncada, who still has some development to do in the minors. He may not be with the White Sox in April, but Moncada will be up with the team in 2017.

Escobar is batting ninth and slotted as the designated hitter for Saturday's game against the White Sox, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

Escobar is normally just a backup infielder, though it seems manager Paul Molitor wants his switch-hitting bat in the lineup Saturday. The 28-year-old is 3-for-6 with a home run and four RBI this season.

Rendon went 1-for-3 with a walk in Friday's win over the Phillies.

After going 0-for-8 if his first two games, Rendon finally picked up his first hit. Expect the third baseman to quickly get back up to speed at the plate and start contributing to the Nationals' potent offense.