MLB Player News

Escobar agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million contract with the Twins on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

He was believed to be a non-tender candidate, but ultimately Escobar and the Twins were able to land on a number that was suitable for both sides. Escobar hit just .236/.280/.338 in his age-27 season, but he was significantly better at the plate in 2015 and can play shortstop, second base and third.

Manager Kevin Cash said Thursday that Duffy is "very much ahead of schedule" in his recovery from left heel surgery, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy battled soreness in his Achilles/heel area throughout much of the season and ultimately underwent surgery in early September. He's been working through some atrophy since shedding his walking boot, but the Rays seem optimistic that Duffy will be ready for spring training. Entering his age-26 season, Duffy projects as the primary shortstop if indeed healthy.

Segura was traded to the Mariners from the Diamondbacks on Wednesday along with Mitch Haniger and Zac Curtis in exchange for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte.

It was well known that the Mariners were looking for an upgrade at shortstop and they landed a significant one in Segura. He put together what was easily his best season in his age-26 campaign, batting .319/.368/.499 with 20 homers and 33 steals (43 attempts). While he now goes to a more pitcher-friendly home park and will play for a manager in Scott Servais who didn't run a whole lot this past season (24th in stolen base attempts), Segura's batted ball profile from 2016 and speed bode well for his chances of once again providing quality production atop the lineup.

Plouffe has been placed on outright waivers and is expected to clear Friday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

If he does indeed clear waivers, Plouffe will become a free agent. Plouffe was entering his third winter of arbitration eligibility and would have been due north of $7 million again in 2017. He battled a variety of injuries this past season which limited him to 84 games. The 30-year-old has hit .247/.308/.420 in 723 career games at the major league level.

Moncada (thumb) will start the 2017 season in the minors, presumably at Triple-A, Mass Live's Christopher Smith reports. "I think he would be able to play third base well enough with a month of spring training," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "And he has versatility, too, if we needed that. But right now, I'd say his bat probably needs some more seasoning at the minor league level."

This was expected, as Moncada struggled to hit offspeed pitches and breaking balls in the upper levels of the minors and in the majors last season. Despite those struggles, Moncada will enter 2017 as the top prospect in the game for dynasty league purposes, as he is just 21 and still offers superstar level tools. A minor thumb injury cut short his run in the Arizona Fall League, but he will be good to go for the start of spring training. Travis Shaw, Pablo Sandoval and Brock Holt all project to make the 25-man roster out of spring training as options at third base, so the Red Sox can afford to be patient with Moncada. However, once he proves himself capable of handling a steady diet of offspeed pitches at Triple-A, the Red Sox will likely promote him as he would then profile as the organization's best option at the hot corner.

The A's have agreed to trade Valencia to the Mariners, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

According to Greg Johns of MLB.com, the A's will be receiving right-hander Paul Blackburn in return. Valencia enjoyed a fine offensive season in 2016, batting .287/.346/.446 with 17 homers and 72 runs scored, but he injured Billy Butler in a fight in August and there were rumors that the A's might just release him outright. With the Mariners (his seventh MLB team), Valencia seems primed to take over as the primary option in right field with Kyle Seager locked in at third.

Donaldson, for the second consecutive season, was named a Silver Slugger, an honor which goes to the best hitter at every position in each league.

Donaldson earned the award by following up his MVP campaign by smacking 37 homers, notching 99 RBI and scoring 122 runs. He slashed .284/.404/.549 over 577 at-bats while racking up a career-high 109 walks in 2016. Toronto's lineup, which has been one of the best in recent years, will look much different next season, but Donaldson will still be a top pick in almost all formats.

Robinson was added to the 40-man roster Thursday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Although he owned a batting average of just .257 in 2016, Robinson showed an upswing in terms of power at Triple-A Round Rock. His 54 extra-base hits, which include 20 home runs, gave him a phenomenal .480 slugging percentage. However, it wasn't all good news for the 24-year-old, as he posted a 27.5 percent strikeout rate.

Moncada will leave the Arizona Fall League after sustaining a left thumb sprain, Rob Bradford of WEEI reports.

It's unclear when the injury happened, but it appears to be a relatively minor ailment considering the Red Sox only expect Moncada to rest for two weeks before resuming baseball activities. Unless something else pop up, the top prospect should be 100 percent when spring training rolls around.

Donaldson went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo homer in Tuesday's Game 4 ALCS victory over the Indians.

The Blue Jays spent the first 29 innings of this series either tied or playing from behind, but Donaldson finally put an end to that. According to Statcast, the slugger's first home run of the ALCS had a projected distance of 402 feet and left his bat at 99 mph. The home run snapped Indians ace Corey Kluber's postseason scoreless streak at 15.1 innings. For Donaldson, it was his seventh extra-base hit of the postseason.