MLB Player News

Plouffe signed a one-year deal with the Athletics on Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Plouffe is coming off an injury-plagued 2015-16 campaign with the Twins that saw him slash .260/.303/.420 with 12 homers, 35 runs and 47 RBI. The earliest reports are that Plouffe will see the majority of starts at third base with second-year infielder Ryon Healy taking starts at first and designated hitter. Either way, Oakland lands a huge piece that could be due for a bounce-back year.

Asche signed a minor league contract with the White Sox on Friday, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

Asche put up a career .240/.298/.385 line in four years with the Phillies and is now 26 years old, so there's not much ceiling to be found here beyond a bench bat. Regular plate appearances are likely to be a rarity, though the retooling White Sox are in exactly the position to give him a shot if he begins hitting like a legitimate starting corner outfielder.

Muncy was designated for assignment Tuesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

This move comes on the heels of the team's free agent signing of Rajai Davis. Muncy appeared in 51 games for the A's in 2016, but failed to make much of an offensive impact. In 133 plate appearances, the utility infielder slashed a paltry .186/.308/.257 and a posted a wRC+ of 63.

Devers was part of the package the White Sox were seeking for pitcher Chris Sale, but the Red Sox would not include him, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Boston was reluctant to part with Devers in addition to losing Yoan Moncada and Micheal Kopech in the deal, so Chicago eventually settled on two lesser prospects to complete the deal. If the Red Sox were going to deal Moncada, who had potential to play third base, they weren't going to leave the organization thin at the position by trading Devers, too. The takeaway for fantasy owners is how valuable Boston perceives Devers, who became the team's top prospect following the deal. He's at least two years away from being an everyday MLBer, which puts him right on schedule to take over when Pablo Sandoval's contract runs its course.

Moncada was traded to the White Sox on Tuesday as part of a deal that sends Chris Sale to the Red Sox, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports.

Moncada struggled in his brief major-league stint with the Red Sox last season, but there is no denying he is one of -- if not the -- best prospects in baseball, and is the centerpiece of the package headed to Chicago. Now that the White Sox are officially rebuilding, they will likely let Moncada work on his recognition of offspeed and breaking pitches at Triple-A at the start of the season, as the Red Sox clearly rushed him a little in 2016. Once he has mastered minor league pitching, however, he will likely take over at the keystone for the White Sox.

Royals manager Ned Yost said that Moustakas (knee) will be "100 percent ready to go" when the season starts as he continues to rehab a torn ACL, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

The knee injury was preceded by a thumb ailment, and Moustakas was on the field for just 27 games in 2016. One particularly encouraging sign last season was that he sustained the power increase he showed in 2015 (.470 SLG, 22 homers) with seven long balls and a .500 slugging percentage in his 113 plate appearances. A detailed timetable for Moustakas' return hasn't been revealed, but he's on track for Opening Day, which suggests that he'll likely be able to accumulate at-bats in Arizona when spring training kicks off in March.

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.