MLB Player News

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.

Duffy is not in the lineup against Miami on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Duffy will receive a standard day off after 11 straight starts, including a 2-for-6 showing during Tuesday's win. Joey Wendle will pick up a start at third base and bat fifth.

Moncada went 3-for-6 with a walk, a stolen base, a triple and three RBI in Tuesday's 12-8 extra-innings victory over Cincinnati.

Moncada's bases-clearing triple in the 12th inning put the White Sox on top for the first time, completing their comeback from a five-run deficit earlier in the game. This was the second straight multi-hit effort for Moncada, who endured a miserable June in which he hit just .197. Three of his five hits in the last two games have gone for extra bases.

Muncy went 3-for-4 with two solo homers in Tuesday's win over the Pirates.

With a pair of homers off Ivan Nova, Muncy lifted his total to 20 through 185 at-bats this year. This breakout has come completely out of the blue, but the batted-ball numbers suggest the power is absolutely real. He was starting at second base again Tuesday, his seventh start at the position this season.

Moustakas was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with back spasms, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Moustakas was slated to start at third base and bat third for the Royals, per usual, but will instead nurse the injury. The severity of the issue is unclear at this point, and the 29-year-old should be considered day-to-day for the time being. Alcides Escobar will shift to third base with Adalberto Mondesi entering the lineup at shortstop.

Donaldson (calf) will resume hitting later in the week, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reports.

Donaldson appeared to be nearing a return from his calf injury before suffering a setback in late June. He's restarting his activity progression with no symptoms and will begin to hit again soon. It remains unclear when he'll return to big-league action.

Chapman (hand) returned from the disabled list Tuesday ahead of the A's contest against the Padres.

Chapman had been out since mid-June with a hand injury. He was hitting a solid .250/.346/.447 prior to hitting the disabled list. Franklin Barreto was optioned to Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.