MLB Player News

Moustakas (hamstring) will return to the lineup in Saturday's matchup with the Athletics.

Moustakas got the night off Friday to rest a sore hamstring, but he feels well enough to return. He will bat second in the order Saturday.

Escobar is not in the lineup Saturday against the Angels, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It looks like a routine day off for Escobar, who has been the regular starter at shortstop. The Twins will instead go with Eduardo Nunez, who will lead off Saturday.

Manager Ned Yost announced that Moustakas will get the night off Friday due to a sore hamstring, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reprots.

The Royals will have a different look than usual Friday with Moustakas being replaced at third base by Christian Colon, who will bat eighth in the order. Colon entered Thursday's game as a pinch-runner for Moustakas, but it wasn't immediately apparent that Moustakas was dealing with a hamstring injury. Friday's night off for Moustakas is likely a precautionary measure to keep him fresh and avoid pushing him too quickly after tweaking his hamstring, so look for him to draw back into the order later in this weekend's series.

Moustakas is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the A's.

It's unclear at this point as to why Moustakas, who has played in every game this season, is out of the lineup for Friday's series opener against Oakland. It's possible that manager Ned Yost is simply limiting wear and tear on his cornerstone infielder, or that he merely wanted to get Christian Colon some playing time. It is worth noting, however, that Colon came on to replace Moustakas late in Thursday's contest with Houston. More information on Moustakas' status figures to be made available later Friday.

Moustakas went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's win over Houston.

Moustakas has now reached base safely in all but two games this season and he's up to three home runs in his last six contests. He's firmly entrenched as the Royals' No.2 hitter, and although Alcides Escobar's early season slump is limiting Moustakas' RBI chances, his ability to get on base in front of the likes of Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer ought to give the Moose plenty of opportunities to come around to score moving forward.

Donaldson went 2-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer Thursday in a win over the Yankees.

That's hits in 10 straight games to open the year for Donaldson, and he's homered in half those contests. Last year's insane campaign was no fluke -- he looks perfectly capable of cloning that performance.

Alvarez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports.

Alvarez will be held out Thursday with the Orioles facing left-hander Cole Hamels. He also sat out the only other time the Orioles have faced a left-hander this year, and owns just a .597 career OPS against southpaws, so don't be surprised is his at-bats against lefties are sparse.

Bichette, 23, is 6-for-15 (.400) with two home runs and six RBI over the first four games of the year for Double-A Trenton.

Bichette already has nearly as many home runs in 2016 as he had all of last season (3). He struggled mightily in 2015 as he was shuttled between High-A and Double-A, slashing just .226/.274/.311 in a combined 112 games. A bounce back season could certainly put him back on the path to the big leagues, though, particularly with the impending retirement of Alex Rodriguez and the questionable play of Chase Headley.

Ramirez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.

Ramirez, who has been playing more in the outfield of late, will sit in favor of Collin Cowgill. Ramirez is off to a strong start at the plate, hitting .313 in four games this season. With Michael Brantley on the road to returning, Ramirez could be squeezed even more for playing time.

Bregman hit his third home run of the young season Tuesday for Double-A Corpus Christi.

He is 8-for-24 with three home runs, two walks and two strikeouts through six games for the Hooks, and is one of the hottest hitters in the minor leagues through one week of play. Dansby Swanson, Brendan Rodgers and Andrew Benintendi overshadowed Bregman in dynasty league drafts this spring, but Bregman is a fantastic hitter in his own right. If he weren't blocked at the big league level, Bregman would have the look of a prospect who could move quickly to the majors.