Valbuena is not in the lineup against Boston on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Expectedly, Valbuena will retreat to the bench with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound for the Red Sox. In his place, Shohei Ohtani will DH and bat sixth.

Valbuena is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.

EDGE Analysis

The Angels will stack right-handed hitters as they matchup against a difficult southpaw in David Price, so Valbuena will head to the bench for Tuesday's series opener against the Red Sox. Jefry Marte will pick up a start at first base while Albert Pujols slides to DH.

Valbuena is out of Sunday's lineup against the Royals, 610 Sports Radio Kansas City reports.

EDGE Analysis

With the Angels facing a lefty (Eric Skoglund), they will go with as many right-handed hitters as possible, so Valbuena takes a seat. Jefry Marte is starting at first base while Albert Pujols gets the start at designated hitter.

Valbuena went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored, and an RBI Saturday against the Royals.

EDGE Analysis

Valbuena hit his third home run of the season Saturday and was the first of three Angels to take Royals' starter Jake Junis deep. He had received regular playing time to start the season, but the Angels lineup has gotten more crowded thanks to the return of Ian Kinsler and the success of Shohei Ohtani. As a result, Valbuena could be in line to lose more at-bats, especially against left-handed pitching against whom he has has just a .326 slugging percentage over the past three seasons.

Valbuena is out of the lineup Friday against the Royals, 610 Sports Radio - Kansas City reports.

EDGE Analysis

Valbuena will head back to the bench as Shohei Ohtani draws another start in the DH spot. Expect to see Valbuena back in the starting nine Saturday since Ohtani will get the day off prior to his start on the mound Sunday.

Valbuena is not in the lineup against Texas on Wednesday, TR Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Valbuena will head to the bench following 10 straight starts, during which he hit .282/.333/.462 with two home runs and six RBI. Shohei Ohtani draws the start as the club's DH and Jefry Marte will get the nod at the hot corner for the series finale.

Valbuena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Athletics.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran infielder is enjoying his run of regular playing time, as he has now hit safely in all but one of his six starts this year. He's also enjoying a surprisingly high .258 batting average so far, though that can likely be chalked up to a small sample size. Valbuena already has seven strikeouts on the season, but he could prove to be a cheap source of power until Ian Kinsler (groin) rejoins the infield fray.

Valbuena started at third base and went 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Athletics.

EDGE Analysis

Valbuena was expected to begin the year as part of a three-man rotation at designated hitter with Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani, but Ian Kinsler's placement on the disabled list this weekend has opened up regular playing time at the hot corner -- with Zack Cozart moving to second base -- for the free-swinging slugger. The 32-year-old will sit against southpaws, but with four righties on tap, he could be a cheap source of power for those in deep formats as well as DFS.

Valbuena (personal) rejoined the Angels on Friday after a two-day leave to complete his United States citizenship test, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

EDGE Analysis

The slugger is batting .257 (9-for-35) with a pair of home runs so far this spring. The Angels shipped C.J. Cron off to Tampa Bay this offseason, opening up the door for Valbuena to see regular at-bats against right-handed pitchers while splitting first base and designated hitter duties with Albert Pujols. Even with the increase in playing time, the 32-year-old remains a low-end fantasy option after being the only batter to play in 100 games and finish below the Mendoza Line last season.

Manager Mike Scioscia said Valbuena is in Florida to take the U.S. citizenship test, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

This helps explain Valbuena's removal from Wednesday's lineup. It's unclear how long the 32-year-old will be away from the team at this point. Valbuena is expected to split time at first base with Albert Pujols in 2018.