MLB Player News

Cooper could wind up as the Marlins' primary designated hitter this season, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

With Jesus Aguilar getting first crack at the starting first base job and Miami carrying a lot of outfield depth, Cooper's path to playing time this season originally appeared somewhat precarious, but he might be the most comfortable fit at DH while players with better gloves, such as Lewis Brinson, patrol right field. Cooper slashed a solid .281/.344/.446 in 421 plate appearances last year, but he'll need to avoid the injuries that sidelined him at times in 2019 to take full advantage of his opportunities.

Naylor is the "most obvious DH candidate" if a universal designated hitter is instituted for the 2020 season, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Under MLB's current proposal, teams in both leagues would use a designated hitter during an abbreviated 2020 season. Naylor makes sense to fill the role regularly for San Diego given his raw power and subpar defense. Still, Lin notes that the Padres could cycle through a number of players to DH in order to preserve energy and health, so Naylor is far from guaranteed an everyday role.

Bohm recently signed with top baseball agent Scott Boras, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Bohm has yet to reach Triple-A but has a clear path as the Phillies' third baseman of the future, a role he could potentially take over quite early this season. The Phillies have been open to locking up prospects to long-term extensions prior to their debuts, as they did with Scott Kingery prior to his Opening Day callup in 2018. Boras is famous for getting his players paid and has a reputation for preferring his clients go to free agency, but his acquisition of Bohm doesn't necessarily bode poorly for the Phillies. He's worked with the team in the recent past, including brokering Bryce Harper's $330 million deal in 2019.

Beaty's chances of making the Opening Day roster are likely to improve if the 2020 campaign is played, Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports.

Beaty was already a strong contender for a roster spot prior to the suspension of play, but his chance of breaking camp with the big club would increase further with an abbreviated season and the probability of expanded rosters. Such a scenario could allow both Beaty and Edwin Rios -- whom Beaty was rumored to be battling for the final roster spot -- to make the squad in reserve roles.

Arias is expected to be added to the Padres' 40-man roster following the 2020 season, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Arias is likely to open the campaign at the Double-A level after slashing .302/.339/.470 with High-A Lake Elsinore last season. His age (he recently turned 20) and strong defense add to his attractiveness as a prospect, so the Padres will likely find a place for him on the 40-man roster during the next offseason as long as he continues on his current trajectory and is not traded elsewhere. While Arias has the range and plus-plus arm to excel at shortstop, Fernando Tatis seems to have locked down that position in San Diego for the foreseeable future.

Goldschmidt (elbow) has been getting preventative care and treatment at the Cardinals' spring training facility, Laurie Skrivan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

He has remained in Florida with his family during the pandemic and eased back his workouts when baseball officially stopped, taking "a longer-term view." His elbow soreness is apparently still serious enough that he has needed to keep getting treatment, but Goldschmidt said he could be ready for games whenever things resume, so it sounds like an issue he will simply have to play through. When he doesn't want to stress his elbow, he has been using virtual reality technology to track pitches and revisit past at-bats.

Beaty has been working on his hand-eye coordination by swinging at pinto beans with teammate Edwin Rios, he stated in an interview with David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports.

Beaty and Rios have remained in Arizona during the suspension of play, rooming together in an apartment that provides little space for traditional baseball workouts. As such, they have taken to unique methods for staying sharp as they await word on when the MLB season may resume. Beaty also noted that he and Rios have been taking part in strength and cardio workouts using equipment set up in their garage. Interestingly, the pair are in competition with each other for one of the final spots on the Dodgers' Opening Day roster.

Votto blamed his subpar 2019 on mechanics and process, trying to chase his 2017 results in part because he didn't get the desired results in 2018, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer (via a segment on MLB Network with Brian Kenny) reports.

Votto said that the drop in homers from 36 in 2017 to 12 in 2018 disturbed his approach at the plate, but it shouldn't have. "In '19, I was really bent out of shape going from hitting 36 home runs to 12 home runs (in 2018). I viewed the year as a failure. But looking at my Statcast data, it was an unlucky season. I was a really productive hitter using relatively predictive data." Watch the full segment with Votto and Kenny -- it's really enlightening.

Beaty spent much of the offseason working on his quickness, Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider reports.

His desire to be quicker is likely related to the team's desire for a left-handed backup at third base. Beaty's ability to fill that role has given him the "inside track" for a roster spot according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, but a lackluster spring at the plate prevented him from cementing a place on the big-league club prior to the suspension of spring training. Edwin Rios appears to be Beaty's primary competition for one of the final spots on the Opening Day roster.

Although new manager Derek Shelton hasn't revealed his preferred lineup, Bell is expected to bat cleanup for the Pirates in 2020, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

With No. 3 hitter Starling Marte traded to Arizona, the team will likely turn to Adam Frazier, Kevin Newman or Gregory Polanco to bat ahead of Bell. After a red-hot start to 2019, Bell hit just .232/.342/.476 with 19 homers in his final 371 plate appearances. The switch hitter's splits against left-handed pitching were disappointing -- he slashed just .224/.313/.448 with nine homers in 166 plate appearances. Against right-handers, however, he batted .297/.387/.615 with 32 doubles and 28 homers in 384 PA. He may get pitched around, given that Polanco, Colin Moran and Jose Osuna are likely candidates to bat fifth. As Pittsburgh's only bona fide power hitter, the organization will be counting upon Bell to produce big numbers in 2020.