MLB Player News

Moustakas (thumb) has been scratched from Friday's lineup, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

He was able to return Wednesday after sitting a couple days with a swollen thumb, but apparently the thumb is still an issue. Christian Colon will take over at third base in Moustakas' absence as Omar Infante mans the keystone. Moustakas currently leads Royals regulars in both home runs (7) and slugging (.536).

Alvarez is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the A's.

With lefty Rich Hill due up for Oakland, Alvarez will head to the bench while Mark Trumbo gets a day off from playing the field. Alvarez has logged all of nine at-bats against lefties thus far, and he's not getting the job done against righties, recording 10 hits and just one home run in 47 at-bats.

Valencia is back in the lineup Friday against the Orioles, batting seventh and playing third base.

Valencia was reinstated off the disabled list earlier in the day Friday, and he'll slot right back into the lineup at the hot corner without spending any time on the bench. The third baseman's .345 OBP should be a nice addition to many fantasy owners' lineups, but his re-entry into the Oakland lineup will make playing time hard to come by for Chris Coghlan, who will likely move back into a reserve role.

Valencia (hamstring) was reinstated from the 15-day DL on Friday.

This was anticipated, and Valencia is expected to be in Oakland's lineup Friday against the Orioles. Valencia's lack of power to date (zero home runs in 55 plate appearances) does not illustrate how he has been impacting the baseball, as he has been a statcast darling early on thanks to impressive exit velocity readings. He should still be rostered in most formats.

Devers is adjusting to the higher level of pitching at High-A Salem, but is only hitting .144/.245/.278 through 24 games, WEEI.com reports.

Salem manager Joe Oliver said Devers is putting the work in with hitting coach Nelson Paulino, trying to become less pull conscious and getting more comfortable driving the ball to left and center field. Oliver also noted that Devers has not taken his hitting struggles out to the field defensively.

Bregman (hamstring) was activated from the minor league disabled list Thursday, MiLB.com's Sam Dykstra reports.

He missed 11 games with the ailment, and was on fire at the plate prior to landing on the DL. Bregman is slashing .340/.431/.660 with more walks (six) than strikeouts (five) through 59 plate appearances. Assuming he picks up close to where he left off, Bregman should force his way to Triple-A in the coming weeks. At that point, he could start to see time at third base to expand the Astros' options, and he would almost certainly be next in line if anything happened to Carlos Correa.

Alvarez is in the lineup and batting eighth, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports.

After hitting 27 home runs with the pirates in 2015, Alvarez has seen his power deplete drastically early on this season, hitting just one home run through his first 62 plate appearances. The 29-year-old will try to get back on track and help an already dangerous Orioles lineup.

Moustakas (thumb) went 0-for-3 in his return to the lineup Wednesday.

In a game that became very lopsided, Moustakas departed early in favor of Christian Colon. He'll get another day off Thursday before the Royals begin a weekend series in Cleveland on Friday evening.

Escobar is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Escobar is sitting on a .245 batting average with only five extra-base hits and six RBI on the year. The greatest area for concern lies with his 22 strikeouts versus only five walks on the year. Even though he is known as a player that doesn't draw walks, he is not providing any pop or stolen bases (zero on the year) to the lineup either. Eduardo Nunez will start in Escobar's place on Wednesday, playing shortstop and batting ninth.

Alvarez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports.

Since April 16, Alvarez either has two or more hits or no hits in a game, watching his average jump from .167 to .208 over that span while picking up his first home run. Really only able to act as the designated hitter these days, Alvarez gives way to Nolan Reimold while Mark Trumbo slides over as the designated hitter.