MLB Player News

Candelario went 1-for-5 with home run -- his first of the season -- in Friday's loss to the Yankees.

Candelario has mostly struggled to start the season, as his slash line sits at .200/.290/.364 after Friday's game. It's good to see him connect on his first home run, though, and the Tigers will likely keep the young third baseman in the No. 2 spot in the lineup to see what they have in a rebuilding season. As is the case with many young players, Candelario may not prove to be a consistent performer this year, but the talent is there for some strong performances on occasion.

Chapman went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Mariners.

The 24-year-old now has five homers and 12 RBI through 14 games to go along with a surprising .358 (19-for-53) batting average. Don't expect that batting average to last -- his 81 percent contact rate is almost certainly unsustainable for a player who was usually in the high 60s in the minors -- but Chapman's power is very much for real, and 30 or even 40 home runs in his first full MLB campaign is entirely within his reach.

Devers went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Friday's win over the Orioles.

The double was Devers' fifth on the season, and he's hitting .271 with one home run and 10 RBI in 12 games. Batting near the middle of the lineup is giving Devers some RBI opportunities, and he's been taking advantage so far.

Alvarez is not in the lineup against Boston on Friday, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Alvarez will head back to the bench after going 1-for-3 with a double and one run scored against Toronto during Wednesday's series finale. In his place, Danny Valencia picks up a start at DH, while batting fifth in the order.

Donaldson was put on the 10-day disabled list due to right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to April 11.

Donaldson has been dealing with throwing problems since the beginning of the season, when manager John Gibbons declared him as having a 'dead arm' following a batch of games where he was visibly struggling to get the ball to first base. The third baseman was briefly moved to the DH spot, but returned to his typical position against the White Sox on April 3 and has been playing the field since. Donaldson hasn't experienced any sort of setback or new injury to the shoulder, but without any noticeable improvement, Donaldson will be forced to spend some time in Florida going through a throwing program to correct the issue. In a corresponding move, Teoscar Hernandez was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. Expect to see Yangervis Solarte earn a majority of the starts at the hot corner in Donaldson's absence.

Urshela (hamstring) will report to Triple-A Columbus for a minor-league rehab assignment.

Urshela recently played in an extended spring training contest earlier this week and appears to be on the verge of making an appearance in the minor leagues within the next couple days. Manager Terry Francona did mention Wednesday that Urshela was about 4-5 days away from playing with Columbus, so the infielder could spend a few days on the bench before returning to game action.

Lewis went 2-for-5 with one home run and one strikeout Thursday for Low-A Cedar Rapids.

The home run was his first of the year, and second in 23 career games in the Midwest League. While a .250 BABIP is suppressing his early season slash line, his 3:4 K:BB shows that he has a very good handle on the pitching at this level. He is also 1-for-1 on stolen-base attempts in the early going. Look for him to soon force a promotion to High-A.

Moncada went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Thursday's 4-0 loss to the Twins.

Moncada's fanned six times over the last two games and has multiple Ks in seven of 12 games played. He's made that silent walk back to the dugout 24 times over 57 plate appearances (42.1 K%). Offspeed stuff has bothered him since his first taste of the majors with Boston in 2016, however, manager Rick Renteria told Scott Merkin of MLB.com it's a physical thing more than any one pitch giving the leadoff hitter trouble. He feels Moncada is pulling his head during his swing. "He's not really seeing the ball into the zone as well as I would like him to," Renteria said. You can live with the high strikeout totals if he were doing other things, but the second baseman is 3-for-20 with men on base (2-for-17 RISP). His on-base ability, considered a forte along with his speed, sits at .298 while he hasn't attempted a steal yet.

Davis was optioned to Triple-A Fresno on Thursday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.

Davis made the Opening Day roster as a reserve player and collected six hits in his 28 at-bats. He'll be sent back to the minors with starting first baseman Yulieski Gurriel (hand) set to return from the disabled list Friday. Davis will likely play every day at Fresno with the hopes of returning to the bigs before long.

Urshela (hamstring) played in an extended spring training game in Arizona on Thursday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Manager Terry Francona admitted that Urshela remains about 4-to-5 days out from going on a minor-league rehab assignment, though this marked the first time that the 26-year-old returned to game action since going down with a right hamstring strain near the end of spring training. Upon his return to the big leagues, it's expected that Urshela will be utilized out of a reserve role all around the infield.