MLB Player News

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.

Candelario is not in the lineup against Texas on Thursday, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Candelario will receive a standard day off following nine straight starts in the Tigers' lineup. In his place, Ronny Rodriguez will draw a rare start at third base. Over 75 games this year, Candelario is hitting .235 with a .780 OPS and 33 RBI.

The Blue Jays outrighted Urshela to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday.

Urshela attracted no interest from the other 29 teams after the Blue Jays exposed him to waivers and will now remain in the organization. No longer in possession of a spot on the 40-man roster, Urshela faces an uphill battle to resurface in the big leagues this season.

Paredes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday for High-A Lakeland in its 6-0 win over Jupiter.

Paredes has posted a career-worst strikeout rate (16.4 percent) this season, but it's been an acceptable trade-off for him to tap into more power. The 19-year-old is sitting on a .439 slugging percentage -- a 52-point uptick from what he posted in the Midwest League in 2017 -- through 293 plate appearances with Lakeland. His bat has been especially hot since the beginning of June, with Paredes slashing .326/.371/.554 with 12 extra-base hits over that stretch.

Moncada went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and two strikeouts in Wednesday's loss to the Reds.

Moncada's 11th home run of the season put the White Sox ahead in the third inning, though they'd eventually fall by a 7-4 margin. The 23-year-old hit just .205 in May and .197 in June, but he's been starting to turn it around since the calendar flipped to July. Over the last three games, Moncada is 6-for-15 (.400) with a homer, a triple, two doubles, a steal and six RBI. For the season, his hard-hit rate (batted balls with an exit velocity of 95+ mph) ranks 18th among qualified hitters.

Ramirez stole two bases in an 0-for-3 game with a walk Wednesday against the Royals.

It was a goose egg of a game otherwise, but Ramirez continues to widen the gap between himself and the rest of the third base field in the stolen base category. Ramirez now has 17 stolen bases and has been caught just twice. His nearest competition among third basemen is Yolmer Sanchez of the White Sox, who has just nine.

Escobar went 2-for-4 with a solo homer Wednesday against the Brewers.

The homer came with two outs in the ninth inning against closer Corey Knebel, but it wasn't enough to close the gap as the Twins lost 3-2. The multi-hit game was a key one for Escobar, as he had gone just 4-for-43 over his previous 13 games, putting his playing time potentially in jeopardy with Jorge Polanco back from his suspension.

Moustakas (back) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Cleveland, Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star reports.

Manager Ned Yost will give Moustakas another day off after being scratched from Tuesday's lineup with back spasms. With a scheduled day off for Kansas City on Thursday, Moustakas will receive a little additional rest. In his place, Hunter Dozier is set to start at the hot corner.

Valencia is not in the lineup against Philadelphia on Wednesday, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

With the Orioles playing in a National League park, he will remain on the bench as Mark Trumbo gets another start in the outfield. Across 58 games this year, Valencia is hitting .275 with a .793 OPS. Look for Valencia to continue seeing regular time once the club resumes American League play.