MLB Player News

Duenez was sent to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Monday, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic Kansas City reports.

Duenez went 1-for-11 with one home run and three RBI through eight spring training games. He figures to start the season with the Royals' Double-A affiliate after a short stint at big-league camp.

Hague was sent to minor-league camp Sunday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Hague put up serviceable numbers in 11 spring training appearances, recording four hits and one walk in 17 plate appearances. The Mariners don't believe he's quite ready to make a big-league Opening Day roster. Hague should start the year at Triple-A Tacoma.

Cronenworth was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, J. Scott Butherus of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old shortstop was hitless in 11 spring at-bats, although he did score twice. Cronenworth slashed a solid .285/.363/.342 across 179 plate appearances at Double-A Montgomery in 2017, and he should be back there to begin 2018. He has flashed next to no power in his pro career thus far, but he's hit between .268 and .322 in four of five stops and generated a career-best 10.6 percent strikeout rate with the Biscuits last season.

Guerrero will make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Orioles. He'll serve as the Blue Jays' designated hitter and bat sixth.

After decimating pitching at Low-A Lansing and High-A Dunedin last season to burnish his standing as one of baseball's top prospects at any level of the minors, Guerrero earned an invite to his first big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee. Since he's not under serious consideration for an Opening Day roster spot with Toronto, Guerrero has been limited to taking batting practice and playing in simulated games this spring, but he'll be thrust into Grapefruit League action Thursday with manager John Gibbons opting to give several key regulars the day off. In addition to Guerrero, Bo Bichette, another premier prospect in the Blue Jays' farm system, will also make his spring debut.

Stassi (back) went 2-for-2 against the Phillies on Monday.

Stassi was sidelined with back spasms in late February, but he was able to return to action and picked up right where he left off. He's now 4-for-7 (.571) on the spring. Regardless of what he does in Grapefruit League games, Stassi is expected to spend 2018 as organizational depth at Triple-A Rochester.

Gurriel (hand) is back in camp Monday and took part in a light workout, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season after undergoing surgery to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand Wednesday. He reportedly went through his workout with no pain. Marwin Gonzalez is the most likely candidate to fill in at first base until Gurriel returns.

Gurriel (hand) will rejoin the team Sunday after undergoing surgery earlier in the week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel had the hook of the hamate bone removed from his left hand and will miss 5-6 weeks, putting him on a mid-to-late-April return. The Astros have plenty of candidates to take his spot at first base, though we expect to see Marwin Gonzalez get the most at-bats.

Cron, who went 1-for-3 in Thursday's 5-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Orioles, is hitting .333 (4-for-12) with a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs over his first four spring training games.

The offseason acquisition has gotten plenty of reps to open the exhibition slate, logging a trio of plate appearances in each contest while Brad Miller (toe) remains sidelined. Cron is reportedly set for a full-time role in the coming season, which would afford him ample opportunity to bounce back from a career-low .248 average and .437 slugging percentage in 2017. Despite the downturn in those numbers, Cron clawed his way to 16 homers for the third straight campaign, and putting a significant dent in his career-high 25.9 percent strikeout rate from last season would go a long way to propping his metrics back up.

Gurriel's surgery to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand was successful and the procedure typically requires a 5-to-6 week recovery time, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.

If this timetable holds, Gurriel will open the season on the 10-day disabled list and will be ready for game action in mid-April. However, he'll also need to serve a five-game suspension once he's medically cleared, so a late-April return seems like a prudent estimation. The injury was pre-existing, according to general manager Jeff Luhnow, but it was non-symptomatic until earlier this week. Marwin Gonzalez is capable of playing first base, as are Tyler White, A.J. Reed and J.D. Davis, though it sounds like Gurriel won't miss enough time for any of those players to see their stock boosted significantly.

Gurriel will have surgery Thursday to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand and is without a timetable to return, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel was scratched earlier in the week with discomfort, and now it turns out he will miss significant time due to this procedure. It seems inevitable that he opens the year on the 10-day disabled list. Even after trading away Colin Moran, the Astros have a lot of corner-infield depth. In addition to Marwin Gonzalez, who is a lock to make the 25-man roster, Tyler White, A.J. Reed and J.D. Davis are all big-league ready and can all handle first base, so at least one of them figures to break camp in the majors while Gurriel recovers. He will still need to serve a five-game suspension for offensive actions during the postseason, so he will not be able to return to game action immediately after getting activated from the disabled list.