MLB Player News

Manager Bruce Bochy said he expects Shaw (shoulder) to begin next season with Triple-A Sacramento, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bochy noted that he believes Shaw is getting close to making his big-league debut. The 24-year-old held his own following a promotion to Triple-A in May last year, hitting .289/.328/.530 with 18 homers and 50 RBI in 88 games. He's one of the team's top prospects and should make his debut later in 2018 if he continues to perform well in the upper minors.

Blandino was added to the Reds' 40-man roster Monday to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Blandino reached Triple-A Louisville during the 2017 season. Upon his arrival he slashed .270/.390/.444 over 63 games. Although he hit well last season, the Reds may want the 25-year-old shortstop to spend a bit more time with Louisville before giving him a taste of the majors in 2018.

Cooper was traded to the Marlins along with Caleb Smith in exchange for Michael King and international signing bonus money.

Cooper opened the 2017 season in the Brewers organization, where he was playing at Triple-A Colorado Springs. After being acquired by the Yankees, he played 13 games with the big club. During his major league debut he went 14-for-43 (.326) at the dish and posted an .821 OPS.

Cabrera is the leading candidate to start at third base for the Mets in 2018, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Cabrera bounced around the Mets' infield last year, appearing in 30 or more games at second base, shortstop and third base. While he's expected to start somewhere around the infield in 2018 after the Mets picked up his option, it appears New York would prefer to use him at the hot corner while looking elsewhere for a fill-in at second base. The 32-year-old has hit a respectable .280 with a .798 OPS, 37 homers and 121 RBI over the past two seasons (276 games) with the Mets.

Smith will have to compete for the Mets' starting job at first base in spring training, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. "He didn't win it in September, let's put it that way," general manager Sandy Alderson said.

This is an odd thing to say about a cornerstone player who was just getting his feet wet in the majors at the end of last season as a 22-year-old. He hit .220/.304/.450 with six home runs and a 30.4 percent strikeout rate in 100 at-bats from Sept. 1 through Oct. 1. It is understandable that the Mets want to find at-bats for Wilmer Flores, who is coming off a year when he slashed .271/.307/.488 with 18 home runs in 362 plate appearances, but third base and second base seem like better places to try to work him in. As Puma went on to say, this could be a motivational tactic aimed at getting Smith to show up to camp in great shape. He is still the clear leading candidate to open the year as the Mets' starting first baseman, but we now know that he is not a lock to open the year in that role.

The Mets exercised their $8.5 million club option to keep Cabrera on the team in 2018, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

Cabrera is expected to hold a starting spot in the infield for the Mets next season, after hitting .280 with a .785 OPS during 135 games this past year. He also smacked 14 home runs and had 59 RBI, while cutting down on his strikeouts to achieve his lowest rate since the 2010 season.

Shaw is currently on the shelf with a shoulder injury at the Arizona Fall League, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Shaw has played in five games during the AFL thus far, going 3-for-19 at the plate with three walks. Although he's dealing with a minor shoulder ailment, this shouldn't have an effect on his status for the upcoming season, barring any significant setback.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run Wednesday in the Diamondbacks' 11-8 win over the Rockies in the National League wild-card game.

Goldschmidt vaulted the Diamondbacks to an early lead with a long ball in his first at-bat of the game in the bottom of the first inning, giving him just his third home run in the team's last 19 games. The first baseman closed September with a whimper, but the Diamondbacks will need the MVP candidate to be at his best beginning Friday, when his team will face Cy Young contender Clayton Kershaw as it kicks off its divisional series with the Dodgers.

Bell will start Sunday against Washington, even though the Nationals are starting southpaw Gio Gonzalez.

The Pirates have held Bell back against some left-handed pitching -- he's slashing .232/.292/.448 in 137 plate appearances against those hurlers -- but he needs just one homer to break the franchise rookie record of 26. After a September slump, Bell has six hits (including two home runs) in his last 18 at-bats.

Cabrera is not in the lineup Sunday against the Phillies.

Cabrera will make his way to the bench a day after slugging the game-winning home run in extra innings. Phillip Evans will take over at third base and bat second in his stead.