MLB Player News

LeMahieu went 1-for-4 with three RBI in Saturday's win over the Mets.

LeMahieu did his damage with a two-run single in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh. He entered the game with just five RBI in 97 at-bats this month, but made up for it by matching his season high, giving him a total of 37 for the year. LeMahieu is on pace to challenge last year's career-high RBI total of 61.

Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Saturday's 9-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

The veteran slugger was the sole source of offense on a day when Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ throughly frustrated the Orioles lineup. Alvarez has hits in three straight, and is now hitting .300 over 60 July at-bats.

Plouffe (ribs) took grounders during batting practice before Saturday's game, Brandon Warne of ColdOmahaMN reports.

Plouffe showed continued progress from a cracked rib by taking groundballs with Miguel Sano and Danny Santana before the game. He'll begin a rehab assignment Monday, and after several minor league tuneups, he figures to return to the Twins sometime in the first week of August.

Machado went 1-for-2 with a solo homer, two walks and three runs in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays.

The young slugger represented a significant portion of the Orioles' offense on the night and was a constant thorn in the side of Blue Jays pitching. Machado's 388-foot blast to right center in the eighth brought Baltimore within one, but Roberto Osuna was able to slam the door on them in the ninth. It was the second round-tripper in the last three games for Machado, who's also hit safely in eight of his last nine contests.

Suarez went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a walk in Friday's win over the Padres.

Suarez has had a couple of big games this week, though his overall line has been disappointing despite a big April. His walk rate is marginally up this season (7.2% after 4.3% last year), but so are his strikeouts.

Moncada has been working out at third base with Double-A Portland, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Red Sox general manager Mike Hazen confirmed that the organization has been working Moncada at third base prior to Sea Dogs' road games. Hazen also said the plan is to continue to introduce Moncada to positions other than second base, with the likelihood he'll get some practice time in the outfield. It's no secret that the pressing needs at the major-league level are third base and left field, so it's natural to see if Moncada can become an option at one of those spots.

Plouffe (ribs) is set to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester on Monday after going through a good batting practice Thursday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Plouffe has been out since early July as he's been recovering from a cracked rib. He seems to be progressing nicely, and after competing in a few rehab games with Rochester, Plouffe could be ready to rejoin the big league club by next weekend.

Valencia is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Indians.

This will be the second consecutive game on the bench for Valencia after sitting out Wednesday's series finale against the Rangers. The 31-year-old doesn't have a concrete starting position, but has been playing almost every game for the A's since the early weeks of May. For Friday's game, Oakland will go with Billy Butler at DH and Yonder Alonso at first.

Escobar went 2-for-4 in Thursday's win over Baltimore. Escobar started at third base with Miguel Sano getting the day off. However, he'll likely take over as the everyday shortstop after Eduardo Nunez was traded to San Francisco.

There is a chance Jorge Polanco could share at time at shortstop as the team may want to give him regular at-bats after being called up from Triple-A, but Polanco will likely get a boost in playing time in any scenario in the final two months.

Duffy (Achilles) ran the bases Thursday, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

He cleared a significant hurdle by running the bases -- the activity was said to have gone "really well" -- and Duffy now appears on the verge of beginning a rehab assignment. The 25-year-old could join an affiliate at some point this weekend. It's uncertain how long Duffy will need in the minors to prepare for a return, but with Joe Panik back, Hunter Pence (hamstring) nearing activation and Duffy getting close, it looks the Giants' lineup will be back at full strength early next month.