Loney is out of the lineup Friday against the Cubs.

Loney has started at first base every game since July 7 for the Rays, but will give way to Sean Rodriguez for the afternoon tilt. Loney is hitting over 50 points lower against left-handed pitching, so Friday will be the perfect opportunity for a day off with southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada on the hill for the Cubs. Look for Loney to return to action Saturday.

Loney went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a couple of runs scored in Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Angels.

Loney continues to swing the bat incredibly well for the Rays in recent weeks. The 30-year-old first baseman has now hit safely in 12-of-14 games since the All-Star break, posting a .375 average to go with seven RBI and eight runs scored.

Loney went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the Rays' win over the Angels on Saturday night.

With a left-handed starter on the mound, Loney was dropped to seventh in the order, but that has become a recent change for manager Joe Maddon. Most days, Loney will get plenty of RBI opportunities as the Rays' No. 5 hitter against right-handed starters.

James Loney singled twice, knocked in a pair of runs, drew a walk, and stole a base in a win against the Twins on Sunday.

Loney's two-run single gave the Rays an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, the big hit in what was a very productive afternoon. The first baseman hasn't done much in the power department, but has otherwise done a great job for the Rays at first base. Loney owns a .285/.342/.379 slash line with five home runs, 46 RBI, and three stolen bases.

James Loney went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Yankees.

Loney broke a 1-1 tie with his sixth inning homer, his fifth home run of the season. Loney remains the most productive Rays regular, batting .281/.334/.388 with 42 RBI through 83 games.

James Loney belted a solo home run in the nightcap of Friday's doubleheader, but it was the Rays only offense in a losing effort against the Orioles.

The second inning blast off Chris Tillman was his only hit in four trips to the plate on the evening. He's enjoying another solid season in Tampa Bay, slashing .285/.341/.386 with four long balls and 39 RBI.

James Loney went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts as the Rays' cleanup man on Wednesday.

Loney is hitting just .219 with a homer and five RBI in 64 at-bats this month. He still has the respectable .274 average overall, but the Rays surely wish they had some better options to bat cleanup right now.

James Loney went 2-for-4 in a loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Offense was sparse, as the teams combined for 11 hits and one run on the evening. Loney had two of those hits as he remains one of the only Rays position players showing a pulse at the plate. The first baseman is up to .286/.348/.387 after the multi-hit game.

James Loney went 2-for-3 in Tuesday's loss to the Rays.

Loney was one of two Rays who were able to finagle multiple hits against Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez. The first baseman hasn't hit for much power, but he continues to post a high batting average and an above-average on-base percentage. Loney is slashing .292/.352/.382 with 28 RBI on the season.

James Loney hit the second of back-to-back homers with Desmond Jennings in the fifth inning of Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

It was Loney's second homer of the year and just his second extra-base hit in 94 at-bats this month. He's still hitting for average and driving in runs at a decent clip, but with his minimal contributions in homers, steals and runs scored, he doesn't offer much in fantasy leagues.

James Loney went 3-for-4 with a double on Saturday to raise his average to .343.

Loney is hitting singles and doubles even better than he did last year, though with just one homer and 12 runs scored in the Rays' 31 games, it's not making him especially valuable for fantasy purposes. At least he does have 18 RBI, which is a nice total for a guy who has only driven himself in once.

James Loney went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the Rays' loss to the Yankees on Sunday.

Loney scored the team's lone run in the 12-inning loss. Despite Sunday's setback, Loney enjoyed a good series against the Yankees, registering multi-hit games in each of the three contests with four runs scored and five RBI.

James Loney went 2-for-4 with four RBI in Friday's 11-5 win over the Yankees.

Loney knocked in two runs with a double in the fourth inning and later delivered a go-ahead two-run single off Adam Warren in the bottom of the seventh inning. The 29-year-old has hit safely in four out of his last five games, including two multi-hit games, but he's still hitting just .235 on the year. If he can't hit for average, he's pretty much useless in fantasy leagues.

James Loney launched his first home run of the season Saturday against the Reds.

Loney's second-inning solo shot against Alfredo Simon was the only run of the ballgame. The 29-year-old hit .299 with a .348 on-base percentage last season and plays solid defense at first base, but he simply doesn't provide enough power to have much upside in fantasy leagues.

James Loney delivered an RBI single in the ninth inning to give the Rays a 1-0 win over the Royals on Tuesday.

The Rays were limited to four hits on the night, but two came from Wil Myers and Loney in the deciding ninth inning. The run batted in was Loney's fourth of the year, and the first baseman is batting .222 (6-for-27) in the early going.

James Loney hit a two-run homer off Ubaldo Jimenez as the Rays and Orioles played to a 3-3 tie in 10 innings Saturday.

While Joe Maddon said at the onset of the spring that he would likely hit Evan Longoria and Wil Myers third and fourth, in either order, recent evidence suggests Loney may find himself in the cleanup spot initially. Today was the second straight day Maddon went Longoria-Loney-Myers in the third-through-fifth spots in the lineup. Loney's value would get a boost if Maddon sticks with such an arrangement. Maddon, though, likes to change things up frequently.

James Loney went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI against the Red Sox on Sunday.

He's 9-for-22 with a homer this spring. Loney started hitting third for the Rays at the very end of last season, but manager Joe Maddon has indicated that he expects to go with Evan Longoria and Wil Myers in the third and fourth spots, in either order, this year. That'd hurt Loney a bit, as he'd probably hit fifth, but Maddon changes things up so often that it's really hard to account for his lineups in projections.

Rays re-signed 1B James Loney to a three-year, $21 million contract.

The deal was agreed to last month and has now become official. Loney earned the big new contract after hitting .299/.348/.430 with 13 home runs and 75 RBI while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense for the Rays last season. His offense figures to take a step back in 2014.

James Loney is in Tampa Bay for a physical and his new three-year, $21 million deal is expected to be announced on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old first baseman agreed to terms to ensure his return to Tampa last week. After inking a make-good one-year, $2 million deal with the Rays last winter, Loney slashed .299/.348/.430 with 13 home runs and 75 RBI in 158 games. He spurned a host of suitors this time around -- a group led by the Brewers and Pirates -- to return.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington confirmed that the Pirates were in on free agent first baseman James Loney before he re-signed with the Rays.

Huntington noted that while there was interest, the contract needed to secure him would have gone beyond the team's comfort level. It does seem indicate that the team is in the market for a complimentary option to Gaby Sanchez at first base however.