MLB Player News

Donaldson, who left Wednesday's game early with a jammed thumb, had precautionary X-rays taken after the game that came back negative, Sportsnet reports.

Donaldson said the damage this time isn't as severe as it was in early June in Boston, when he missed on game with the same injury. The news is about as positive as it could be for his fantasy owners, as it sounds like Donaldson has a chance to play in the team's next game Friday in Cleveland.

Newman, 23, is hitting .307/.373/.391 with one home run and five steals in 179 at-bats with Double-A Altoona.

Newman is a tough player to value from a fantasy perspective, as everyone agrees he has one of the better pure hit tools in the minor leagues, but everyone also seems to agree he offers very little power potential. Additionally, Newman may be best served moving from shortstop to second base, and he doesn't offer more than 10-to-15 steal upside annually. However, he has a 33:36 K:BB in 343 at-bats this year in the minors, and profiles perfectly as a leadoff hitter at the highest level. All told, Newman could hit .300 while scoring 100-plus runs and chipping in double-digit steals while qualifying at second base. That's not the sexiest package in the world, but it would make him a borderline top-10 fantasy option at the position. Look for Newman to make his MLB debut next summer.

Donaldson left Wednesday's game with a jammed thumb, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

Michael Saunders was put in the game to fill Donaldson's DH spot. The club has Thursday off, so Donaldson should be considered day-to-day heading into Friday's contest against the Indians. Before getting hurt, Donaldson had gone 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts.

Valencia went 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBI in Tuesday's game against the Rangers.

Tuesday marked Valencia's third straight two-hit effort, and pushed the third baseman's average up to a team-high .296. After a big first half, Valencia's performance has dipped a bit since the All-Star break. Through the season's first three months, the 31-year-old batted a combined .324. However, he's just 30-for-123 (.244) since July 1, and his .370 slugging percentage since the break is significantly lower than the .498 mark Valencia posted before the Midsummer Classic. Maybe his recent string of games is an indication that he's getting back on track as we head toward the home stretch of the fantasy season.

Duffy (Achilles) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy departed Tuesday's game due to mild soreness in his left Achilles and he'll be held out Wednesday, likely as a precaution. The infielder missed nearly two months earlier in the season with an Achilles issue, though Duffy said Wednesday that he's "not concerned" about this latest setback.

Segura went 3-for-5 with a double and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Mets.

Segura has been on fire in August, registering a .321/.367/.536 line through his first 13 games of the month. He's also up to 24 steals, to go along with 10 home runs in what's been a bounceback season for the 26-year-old, who struggled at the plate in 2015 and 2014.

Moncada aggravated his ankle injury after returning from a five-game absence, Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald reports.

Moncada returned to action last Thursday and played a couple of games, but hasn't played since Friday. If the organization was tempted to bring Moncada up to Boston this season, the injury makes it unlikely that would happen.

LeMahieu homered, tripled, walked, scored three times, and knocked in two batters in a 3-for-3 game Tuesday against the Nationals.

LeMahieu is white hot, as he is now 7-for-7 in his past two games and extended his hitting streak to eight games with Tuesday's performance. He has three doubles, a triple and two home runs and six walks and zero strikeouts in this stretch, as he is not only hitting the ball for power but exhibiting stellar plate discipline. LeMahieu's line is up to a brilliant .342/.415/.498. Only Jose Altuve, Daniel Murphy and Matt Carpenter have a better OPS than LeMahieu's .913 among qualified second basemen.

Plouffe went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and RBI double, on Tuesday, scoring a run in the process to help the Twins beat the Braves 4-2.

Plouffe nearly had three RBI, but Jorge Polanco was gunned down by Braves' center fielder Ender Inciarte on Plouffe's RBI single in the top of the ninth. The RBI were just Plouffe's 28th and 29th of the year, and the double was just his 17th extra-base hit. Plouffe is hitting cleanup these days for the Twins, who have actually been a decent offensive team this season, 11th in the MLB in OPS. The power and RBI numbers are a little disappointing considering, but perhaps there's reason to expect more from Plouffe in the final month and a half of the season.

Bregman went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his first, in Tuesday's loss to the Cardinals.

Bregman got off to a very slow start in the majors, but was starting show off his power stroke over the past nine games. In that span, he mashed five doubles, and he finally found his way onto the home run board in the first inning Tuesday night against Jaime Garcia. In 80 minor league games between Double-A and Triple-A this year, Bregman mashed 20 homers, so expect much more like this from him as he gets settled into the big leagues.