MLB Player News

Moustakas went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run and an additional RBI in Sunday's victory over Baltimore.

The third baseman's blast, his ninth of the year, led the Royals to a five-run fourth inning. Moustakas' four RBI were a season high and propelled his team to a come-from-behind victory that finished off a three-game sweep of the O's. He's off to a fine start -- especially when taking into account the Royals' anemic offense -- slashing .250/.282/.493 with 18 RBI and 19 runs through 34 games.

Asche was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

The White Sox plan to announce a corresponding move before Monday's game against the Angels. Asche hasn't managed to produce at the plate this season, as he's hitting a bleak .105/.177/.175 and sporting a 33.9 strikeout percentage.

Duffy (heel) went 0-for-2 and played shortstop Saturday for High-A Charlotte, Bryan Levine of the Charlotte Sun reports.

Duffy sat out Friday's tuneup work, as he felt soreness in his surgically repaired heel during his Thursday contest. He came through on his expected plan by suiting up Saturday -- looking good at shortstop, per Levine -- though he failed to take a third at-bat because it "might've been doing more harm than good." That gives the impression his rehab work will go slowly. A late-May return looks plausible, either way.

Duffy felt soreness in his surgically repaired left heel during his Thursday rehab start for High-A Charlotte, but he still plans to take the field for the Stone Crabs against Fort Myers on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The news certainly isn't ideal, but Duffy's proclamation that he'll be back Saturday after sitting out Friday's game is certainly encouraging. The 26-year-old has gone 2-for-6 over his first two appearances for the Stone Crabs.

Longoria went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Friday's win over Boston.

Longoria launched his fourth homer of the season over the seats on top of the Green Monster in this contest, a welcome sight for fantasy owners who have seen Longoria struggle to the tune of a .234/.310/.387 slash line. The .697 OPS he currently holds through the first six weeks of the season is well off of his .830 career mark, but he still holds substantial fantasy value for his power potential.

Arenado went 3-for-4 with a two-run double, another two-bagger, a walk and three runs in Thursday's 10-7 win over the Dodgers.

The 26-year-old remains well on pace for a third straight 100-RBI campaign and his current .309 average, .588 slugging percentage and .946 OPS all represent career highs. Arenado put together a solid April, but May has been on another level thus far. Factoring in Thursday's production, he's now hitting .351 with one home run and eight RBI over 39 plate appearances on the month.

Escobar went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and four RBI in Thursday's win over the White Sox.

After getting the day off Wednesday due to a rainout, Escobar enjoyed a productive game Thursday, setting the tone for his club with a three-run homer in the first. The bomb was his fourth of the season -- a welcome sight for fantasy owners as Escobar was just 1-for-his-last-11 at the plate.

Candelario could get sent to Triple-A so he can play every day, Jesse Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Candelario was called up as the 26th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Rockies, and he was not sent down immediately after the game. However, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said "it would be difficult to want to keep him" at the MLB level as a part-time player. That means Candelario could return to Triple-A Iowa in the near future, though he's a candidate to return if the team deals with any injuries.

Donaldson (calf) continues to rehab in Florida, but he's still at least a couple weeks away from returning, Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star reports.

Manager John Gibbons noted that his star third baseman is behind Troy Tulowitzki (hamstring) in the recovery process. Tulowitzki is hoping to return by the middle of next week for the series against Atlanta. Based on Tulo's timeline, fantasy owners can figure a best-case scenario would be to have Donaldson back in late May.

Altoona manager Michael Ryan said that Newman was diagnosed with a forehead contusion after being struck with a fastball during Wednesday's game.

Newman is experiencing no concussion symptoms and is being viewed as day-to-day, a welcome outcome considering the scary nature of the incident. The 23-year-old shortstop, who is one of the top position prospects in the organization, is hitting .267/.336/.371 with one homer and no steals across 116 plate appearances on the season.