MLB Player News

Escobar went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Orioles.

Escobar took Alex Cobb deep in the sixth inning for his 14th home run of the season and second in his past five starts. Though he went from June 7 to July 4 without a home run, he has maintained a .524 slugging percentage in 319 at-bats this season, a mark that would be his career best by nearly 100 points. He may be in for a loss of playing time presuming Miguel Sano rejoins the major-league team at some point this summer, though the Twins will be hard-pressed to move Escobar's bat out of the lineup.

Madrigal finished his stint in Arizona and will report to Low-A Kannapolis on Sunday, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Madrigal, the fourth overall pick in last month's draft, signed earlier this week and spent a few days with the White Sox's entry in the Arizona Rookie League. He'll focus on shortstop early on, but he's also comfortable at second base.

Segura went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Rockies.

Segura launched a home run -- his seventh of the season -- in the fifth inning off left-hander Kyle Freeland. It was his first home run and only fourth extra-base hit since June 15. Still, Segura has maintained an excellent .333 batting average and ranks among the top-10 in the American League in runs scored and stolen bases.

Bregman went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, a double and three runs scored against the White Sox on Saturday.

Bregman took James Shields deep in the sixth inning for his 17th home run of the season. After recording five home runs through the first two months of the campaign, Bregman now has 12 home runs since June 2. He's paired that power with excellent numbers across the board, and he now ranks in the top 10 among American League hitters in RBI, runs scored and slugging percentage.

Moustakas went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in the Royals' 10-5 defeat to the Red Sox on Friday.

Moustakas was back in the lineup after missing Kansas City's previous two games with back spasms, and he appears to be back to full health, as he was able to account for two of his team's five runs with an eighth-inning blast off Brandon Workman. He's been in a slump lately, but the 29-year-old is now up to 17 homers to put him on pace for 32 on the season, so Moustakas is on track to provide similar power returns to last year when he launched 34 long balls.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 10-4 win over the Athletics.

Ramirez drove in a pair on a double in the third inning to put Cleveland ahead 3-2, and later plated a run on an RBI single in the seventh. He's been red hot at the plate recently, going 8-for-22 with six RBI and five extra-base hits in his last five games. Ramirez is batting an impressive .296 with 24 homers, 59 RBI and an outstanding 1.001 OPS through 85 games this season.

Valencia is not in Friday's lineup against the Twins, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Valencia will head to the bench for the third time in the last four games, with Joey Rickard starting in right field and batting eighth. The 33-year-old Valencia is in the midst of an 0-for-16 slump and is without a hit in July.

Devers is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The 21-year-old will hit the bench Friday as the Royals send veteran Jason Hammel to the mound. Devers has a .288/.309/.545 slash line with four home runs over his last 17 games.

Moustakas (back) will start at third base and bat third against the Red Sox on Friday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Moustakas missed Tuesday's and Wednesday's games due to back spasms but makes his return to the lineup following Thursday's off day. The 29-year-old has struggled with a .210/.273/.370 slash line with only eight extra-base hits since the start of June.

Candelario is out of the lineup for the second straight game Friday against the Rangers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

There haven't been any reports that Candelario is injured, so it appears that he's just been given a few days off to clear his head after a rough patch in which he's hit just .146 over his last 14 games. Ronny Rodriguez starts again at third base.