MLB Player News

The Athletics claimed infielder/outfielder Danny Valencia off waivers from the Blue Jays on Monday. He was designated for assignment Saturday.

Struggling Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is receiving his second straight day off Sunday against Toronto. Ben Zobrist is set to man the position instead.

Moustakas is on a 6-for-41 slide.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado went 2 for 4 in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Tigers. Machado went deep for his 23rd home run in the seventh inning, giving the O's their sixth and final run of the night.

Machado is batting .275 with a pair of homers over his past 10 games.

Athletics third baseman Brett Lawrie isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game, after starting 95 games this season, including the last 14 and 25 of the last 26. 

Max Muncy gets the call at the hot corner for Saturday's game, starting for the first time since June 28 and ninth time this year. 

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson went 3 for 5 at the plate and drove in four runs to help send the Blue Jays to a 7-6 win over the Royals on Friday.

Donaldson also scored a run and walked once. Over his last 10 games, Donaldson is hitting .350 with three home runs and 11 RBI.

The Blue Jays have designated for assignment left fielder Danny Valencia, who spent much of the season platooning against left-handers, per Sportsnet.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise. Valencia has performed well this season, compiling a .296/.331/.506 slash line with seven home runs and 29 RBI in 162 at-bats. He rebounded from a poor start in July to hit safely in seven of eight starts.

But John Gibbons explained that he wanted to use newcomer Ben Revere every day and that he believes Chris Colabello hits lefties better than Valencia, the Toronto Star has reported.

A slump and the versatility of newcomer Ben Zobrist have Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas out of the lineup Saturday afternoon in Toronto.

Moustakas, who will give way to Zobrist, has finally tailed off after spending most of the year above .300. He has just six hits in his last 41 at-bats to drop his average to .283, its lowest point of the season. He has not driven in a run since July 22.

The Twins activated third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who had been on paternity leave, and pitcher Kevin Jepsen, who was acquired in a trade-deadline deal with Tampa Bay. 

To make room, the team optioned shortstop Danny Santana to Triple-A Rochester and shortstop Jorge Polanco to Double-A Chattanooga, per MLB.com.

Santana was hitting .219 with the Twins this season. Polanco hit .429 in three games.

Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe will be reinstated from the paternity list before the game Saturday against visiting Seattle, per ESPN.

Plouffe, who has been out since Tuesday, will return with a slash line of .257/.316/.456.

Josh Donaldson continues to produce for the Blue Jays, as the third baseman cracked his 25th homer of the season to cap the scoring as Toronto picked up a 5-2 win over the Royals on Wednesday. 

Donaldson's fourth-inning homer went to deep left-center, and with protection in the new-look Toronto lineup from Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Bautista, Donaldson went 2-for-3 with a walk. 

Donaldson has six home runs and 19 RBIs in July.