MLB Player News

Moustakas declined the Royals' qualifying offer and became a free agent Thursday, Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports.

Although it was expected that Moustakas would reject Kansas City's offer, the news was made official just ahead of Thursday's deadline. The third baseman will look for a large multi-year offer after slashing .272/.314/.521 with 38 home runs and 85 RBI last season.

The Royals made a qualifying offer to Moustakas prior to Monday's deadline, the Kansas City Star reports.

It's expected that Moustakas will turn down the $17.4 million offer for 2018 and ink a multi-year deal this winter. Whether he, Eric Hosmer or Lorenzo Cain end up returning to Kansas City on a long-term deal is very much up in the air at this point. The Royals will receive a pick after the end of the first round of the 2018 first-year player draft if Moustakas inks a deal with another club worth $50 million or more, while they'll receive a compensatory pick after the second round if the new contract is worth less than $50 million.

Vargas underwent surgery to remove his right hamate bone in October.

Vargas will now turn his focus towards getting ready for the start of spring training. The 26-year-old hit .308/.308/.385 during his 12-game stint with Arizona last season, but doesn't figure to break camp with the big club.

Duffy (heel) was reinstated from the disabled list Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy wound up missing the entire 2017 season while dealing with various setbacks that stemmed from offseason surgery on his left heel. He was able to spend some time on the team's instructional league team in September, and should be fully healthy by the time spring training rolls around.

Urshela (leg) is in Wednesday's lineup for Game 5 of the ALDS against New York.

Urshela was dealing with some soreness after taking a line drive off his left leg during Monday's contest, but should be good to go for Wednesday's pivotal affair. The 26-year-old will bat ninth and man the hot corner.

Urshela is experiencing soreness after taking a liner off his left leg during Game 4 of the ALDS on Monday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The injury isn't thought to be anything overly serious, but it could force Urshela to miss the Indians' decisive Game 5 against the Yankees on Wednesday. If Urshela is unable to play, the Indians would likely push Jose Ramirez to third base and turn to either Jason Kipnis or Erik Gonzalez to take over at the keystone.

Devers is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Astros, Tim Britton of The Providence Journal reports.

Devers will retreat to the bench as manager John Farrell elects to go with Deven Marrero at third base due to southpaw Dallas Keuchel taking the mound for Houston. During Game 1 on Thursday, Devers went 0-for-3 with one RBI and two strikeouts.

McMahon went just 1-for-10 with a run scored following his September callup.

McMahon spent most of the past month on the bench with the Rockies competing for a playoff spot, but don't let that fool you. The 22-year-old is one of the top prospects in the Rockies' organization, especially after producing a 1.023 OPS in his first taste of Triple-A this year. He's knocking on the door of the big leagues heading into 2018, although playing time may be hard to come given the presence of Ian Desmond and Gerardo Parra as options for first base and Nolan Arenado locked in as the starting third baseman for the foreseeable future.

Vargas went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and four RBI in Sunday's 14-2 win over the Royals.

Vargas didn't get his first plate appearance until the fifth inning yet still produced a tremendous line. He hit an RBI single in the fifth, then added an RBI groundout in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh. To top off, Vargas led off the ninth inning with his first career double. The 26-year-old rookie came in with a .111/.111/.111 line through nine at-bats but raised it to .308/.308/.385 with this effort.

Longoria went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and a run scored in Sunday's 6-0 win over the Orioles.

Longoria did his damage during a five-run eighth inning, driving in the frame's first run before eventually scoring from third thanks to Trevor Plouffe's bases-loaded walk. The soon-to-be 32-year-old third baseman finishes the season with a .261/.313/.424 line.