MLB Player News

Moustakas agreed to a two-year, $14.3 million contract with the Royals on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

An impressive 2015 campaign from the 26-year-old Moustakas earned him a significant pay bump for the final two years of arbitration. After setting career highs in most offensive categories, his place in the batting order remains a bit unclear heading into the 2016 season. He began 2015 batting second in the order, but the mid-season acquisition of Ben Zobrist resulted in Moustakas being pushed down to sixth. With Zobrist no longer in the picture, it wouldn't be surprising he hits near the top again.

Donaldson agreed to a two-year, $29 million contract with the Blue Jays on Monday to avoid arbitration, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

Donaldson will have a tough task duplicating his numbers from the 2015 season after posting 41 home runs, 123 RBI, and 122 runs in what was easily the best statistical campaign of his five-year career. Nevertheless, he'll be touted as a first-round power hitter under most formats who's played in 158 games during each of his last three seasons.

Moncada received an award as the Red Sox minor-league player of the year from the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers of America, the Providence Journal reports.

Moncada, 20, is considered Boston's top prospect and should advance through at least two levels in 2016. He made adjustments during the second half of the season at Low-A Greenville and appears ready to tackle High-Salem and later Double-A Portland in 2016.

Plouffe and the Twins agreed to terms on a one-year, $7.25 million deal Monday, avoiding arbitration, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Plouffe drove in 86 runs and hit .244 last season, down from the career-best .258 mark he posted in 2014. He figures to return in a similar role in 2016, though with Miguel Sano expected to play more regularly in the field, Plouffe may face competition at third base. The 29-year-old also played sparingly at first base last season, so that may be an option, but GM Terry Ryan said back in October that he does not anticipate Plouffe moving to the outfield, where he hasn't played since 2012.

Escobar has earned the starting shortstop job for the Twins, manager Paul Molitor told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

After his 2014 breakout season, Escobar was surprisingly moved to a utility role in favor of Danny Santana at shortstop last spring. However, he reclaimed the starting job when Santana faltered. Escobar enters spring training this year as the clear favorite for the everyday job.

Moncada said he is fully recovered from the hand injury that prevented him from playing winter ball, the Boston Globe reports. "I feel great now," the 20-year-old said via a translator. "I'm looking forward to going into the season 100 percent healthy. I've started doing swings already."

Moncada, who struggled initially in his acclimation to baseball in the United States, finished the 2015 season with .817 OPS for Low-A Greenville and is considered Boston's top prospect. Depending on his development this year, Moncada could reach the majors by the end of the 2017 season.

Escobar agreed to a one-year, $2.15 million deal with the Twins on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Escobar will see a substantial pay raise this season after earning $532K in 2015. He bounced around four different defensive positions last season but has a good shot at landing the every day shortstop role in spring training.

Machado and the Orioles agreed to terms on a one-year, $5 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, the Baltimore Sun reports.

It's a healthy raise for the star third baseman, who made only $485,000 in 2015. The All-Star hit .286/.359/.502 with a career-high 35 home runs, but the team and Machado are yet to get into advanced talks about a long-term contract. Machado is set to hit free agency following the 2018 season.

Valencia agreed to a one-year, $3.15 million contract with the Athletics on Thursday, avoiding arbitration, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Now that Valencia's contract has been settled, he can turn his focuses to holding onto the everyday third base job for the Athletics. The 30-year-old batted .290/.345/.519 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI between the Blue Jays and Athletics last season, and will look to continue his hot-hitting ways in 2016.

Britton signed a minor league contract with the Twins on Wednesday, LaVelle Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's unclear whether the contract includes an invite to big-league camp for spring training. Regardless, Britton is a long-shot to work into any sort of significant major-league role in 2016, having failed to break through the Triple-A glass ceiling in his eight professional seasons. He hit .262/.311/.374 with the Dodgers' Oklahoma City affiliate last season.