MLB Player News

Urshela will start at third base and bat ninth Sunday against the Rays, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After Jason Kipnis (hamstring) was placed on the disabled list shortly before the All-Star break, Urshela had been serving in a semi-regular starting role at third base, while Jose Ramirez shifted over to second base. Urshela's at-bats were expected to take a hit following Kipnis' activation earlier this month, but it took just four games for Kipnis to suffer a setback with the injury. As a result, Urshela has reentered the lineup and will pick up a third consecutive start Sunday, though he likely won't have as much staying power in the starting nine this time around. Kipnis is being viewed as day-to-day and isn't expected to require another DL stay.

Longoria (thumb) will start at third base and bat third Sunday against the Indians, Steve Carney of Sports Radio 620 WDAE reports.

Longoria missed Saturday's game due to the bruised left thumb, but the Rays never feared the 31-year-old would be sidelined for long. Assuming Longoria endures no renewed soreness with the thumb coming out of the series finale, he should be worth keeping active in every format heading into the upcoming week.

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

His playing time is trending in the wrong direction -- Saturday's absence marks Escobar's fourth in the team's last five games. The 28-year-old was fantastic in June, batting .354/.398/.549, but he's posted a sub-.600 OPS since the All-Star break.

Longoria is out of the lineup Saturday against the Indians as he recovers from a bruised left thumb, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Longoria was lifted from Friday's contest after injuring his thumb while attempting to field a line drive in the fifth inning, but subsequent X-rays came back negative. Nonetheless, he will get a day to rest his ailing thumb and said he's available to pinch hit if necessary, so it's safe to expect him back in the lineup by Sunday at the earliest. Trevor Plouffe takes over at the hot corner in his stead.

Lewis was promoted to Low-A Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

Lewis has gotten off to a great start with the Twins' Gulf Coast League team, slashing .271/.390/.414 with 17 RBI and 15 stolen bases over 36 games, so he'll get a chance to duplicate that success at the next level. The first-round pick in the 2017 draft appears to be on a nice upward trend, but likely remains a couple years away from the big leagues.

Davis was not in the lineup Friday against Texas left-hander Cole Hamels, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Davis survived being sent back to the minors earlier this week when George Springer was activated off the disabled list, ostensibly because of his strength against left-handers. Manager A.J. Hinch reminded reporters that he said Davis would play against a lot of left-handers, not every one. Davis, who played only 16 games at Triple-A Fresno before being promoted to Houston, has looked overmatched at the major-league level. He's 1-for-11 with six strikeouts in three games.

Moustakas went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs, pushing his total to 34 round-trippers on the year, in Friday's loss to the White Sox.

Moustakas now has the third most homers for a single season in Royals history. With three more bombs, the third baseman will pass Gary Gaetti (35 in 1995) and Steve Balboni (36 in 1985) for the franchise record. Among AL hitters, Moustakas has the second most home runs, and ranks in the league's top 10 for RBI (75) and slugging percentage (.568).

Chapman (illness) is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Orioles.

An illness forced Chapman from Thursday's game, but evidently he's feeling better already less than 24 hours later. Chapman has been on a great run since the break, slashing .261/.337/.614 with 16 extra-base hits including seven homers, and he looks primed to play close to every day down the stretch.

Segura went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Angels.

Segura made plenty of hay out of the leadoff spot and launched his first round tripper since July 5. The 27-year-old shortstop slugged a career-best 20 homers with the Diamondbacks last season, and hasn't seen any notable drop in hard contact in 2017. However, his HR/FB rate has dipped from 13.5 percent to 8.9 percent in his new Seattle digs. Despite flashing less power, Segura's .312/.366/.433 line is still keeping fantasy owners happy.

Moncada went 2-for-5 with a homer, a walk and two RBI in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Astros.

Moncada was twice the hero in this one. His second long ball of the season erased a one-run deficit with one out in the ninth inning, setting the second baseman up for his walkoff single two innings later. He's slashing just .213/.377/.377, so this performance will likely be the highlight of Moncada's season.