MLB Player News

Diaz is 1-for-5 with a walk and two RBI across his first three Grapefruit League games.

Diaz reported to spring camp a bit lighter than last season with a goal of improving his agility in the field, but he's still packing plenty of muscle and hoping to significantly improve on his average of one home run per 69 plate appearances in 2020. In contrast, Diaz averaged one round tripper per 24.8 plate appearances in 2019 while slugging a career-high 14 homers; a similar ratio of power production in 2021 would certainly go a long way toward boosting the overall potency of a Rays squad that was in the middle of the pack with just 80 home runs across 60 games a year ago.

Casas (undisclosed) is going through intake screening to return to the Red Sox's spring facility, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 21-year-old was in Boston earlier this week being evaluated for a non-baseball medical issue, but he apparently checked out fine and is in the process of rejoining big-league camp. Casas was at the alternate training site last season and spent most of 2019 at the Low-A level, where he had a .254/.349/.474 slash line with 19 home runs in 118 games.

O'Hearn went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Thursday against the Reds.

O'Hearn has put on quite a display of power early on this spring, slugging three homers in four exhibition games. He's unlikely to find significant playing time once the regular season starts due to the addition of Carlos Santana, though he's making a case for a bench spot with his early performance.

France, who went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in a Cactus League tie with the Rockies on Thursday, is 3-for-6 overall in his first three spring games.

The promising 26-year-old also has a double among his three hits and has already logged time at both second base and third base in addition to the designated hitter role he's projected to primarily fill in 2021. France is the heir apparent at third base for the Mariners if he can prove himself at the plate over a full season, and the combination of his early spring returns and the .309/.371/.469 line he produced over 89 plate appearances in Seattle in 2020 support the notion he'll be up to the task.

Casas is in Boston on Thursday getting a non-baseball medical issue checked out, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

With the nature of the issue unclear, it's difficult to say when Casas will return to the field. He was invited to big-league camp but has played just two games above Low-A, so he wasn't going to push for a roster spot even if he was healthy all spring.

Dalbec went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's spring game against the Twins.

Dalbec's power potential has been on display early in camp. The 25-year-old slugger has three homers in six at-bats over four games. Dalbec will be Boston's primary starter at first base in 2021.

Vaughn went 1-for-2 with a walk, a three-run home run and an additional run in Tuesday's spring game against Texas.

Vaughn lifted a first-inning, three-run homer off Kohei Arihara, his first long ball of Cactus League play. The 2019 third-overall draft pick also has three walks through his first two spring training games. Vaughn is projected as the team's starting designated hitter, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com, and the rookie's plate approach and power potential appears ready for MLB.

Abreu went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's Cactus League game against Texas.

Abreu made his spring debut Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19. Last season's AL MVP, Abreu told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times he'd be ready to hit if the season were to start now.

Olson's two-run home run in his Cactus League debut against the Reds on Monday boasted an exit velocity of approximately 116 mph, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

All the required disclaimers about spring training aside, Olson's moon shot was nevertheless encouraging after he spent the offseason tweaking his swing following a paltry .195 average and 31.4 percent strikeout rate in 2020. Monday's blast went beyond the two bullpens situated behind right field before landing in the players' parking lot -- perhaps an early harbinger of Olson returning to the caliber of production that netted a 36-homer, 91-RBI season just two years ago.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Abreu may make his spring debut Tuesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Abreu entered camp late due to COVID-19. He's taken batting practice every day since Saturday, appeared in an intrasquad game, and fielded groundballs Monday.