MLB Player News

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.

Moncada told Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski that his biggest takeaway from his time in the majors was the need to anticipate different pitches, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. "You can tell people that, but until they experience it," Dombrowski said. "When he's hitting at the minor league level and it's a 2-0 count and there's nobody on base and they're losing by a run he's probably seeing a fastball the majority of the time and here he might see a changeup or breaking ball."

Dombrowski said he doesn't regret bringing Boston's top prospect up to the majors for September, feeling a minor league player will never learn what its like at the major league level until they're here. With rare exception, every minor-leaguer will struggle when promoted to MLB. Moncada, who is currently playing third base in the Arizona Fall League, went 3-for-5 with a double and solo homer in his first game for the Surprise Saguaros. He'll continue to get action at third base in the AFL and is most likely to start the 2017 season in the minors.

Donaldson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs in Sunday's series-clinching win over the Rangers.

Donaldson's second run in Game 3 of the ALDS was the walkoff winner as he barely beat the throw home after a botched double play in the bottom of the 10th inning. Through four postseason games, the third baseman is 9-for-18 (.500) with five doubles, three RBI and five runs. Donaldson, who's averaged a homer per 15 at-bats over the past two season, has yet to go deep in the 2016 playoffs.

Alvarez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, MLB.com reports.

Alvarez will be on the bench for the fifth game in a row. The Orioles will look to make outfield defense a greater priority by moving Mark Trumbo to DH to clear room for the speedier Michael Bourn in right field. A .208 average and three homers over 59 plate appearances since the start of September haven't helped Alvarez's argument for a regular lineup spot.

Valencia is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners.

Valencia, who's been dealing with a neck issue, was a late addition to the lineup Saturday. He proceeded to go 0-for-4 and strike out twice. He'll return to the bench Sunday while Matt Olson starts in right field.