MLB Player News

Votto hit his second home run of the spring in Monday's loss to San Diego. "He's doing a lot of good things," manager Bryan Price told MLB.com. "He's playing with a lot of energy. It's always fun to see him get to his power. He just looks good. He looks advanced for this time of spring."

While Votto has no other extra-base hits besides the two homers, he seems to be seeing the ball well as he typically does, posting an 8:6 BB:K over his first 13 spring games. Votto doesn't have to hit for a ton of power to be highly valuable in fantasy even at first base, but there's reason to think he could approach 30 homers again given the hard-hit rate from a season ago (13th among qualifiers).

Manager Terry Collins said he hopes Cabrera (knee) is able to DH in a game by the end of the week, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

Cabrera is still in the process of rehabbing a strained patella tendon, and while he's yet to take live batting practice, he hit from indoor cages both Saturday and Sunday. The Mets are hoping to have Cabrera by Opening Day, and if he's able to DH by the weekend, that would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Cabrera (knee) hit from the indoor cages Saturday and Sunday, and there's still a belief that he'll be available for Opening Day, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Cabrera mainly hit from the tee and off soft toss, as he works his way back from a strained patella tendon. With two weeks until Opening Day, he'll need to progress to full batting practice and then game action, likely by next weekend, to be ready for April 3.

Blandino is nursing a right thigh injury, but the Reds do not believe it's serious at this point, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The 23-year-old went 5-for-20 with a homer in 10 Cactus League games before leaving to play for Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic. It's uncertain when Blandino may return to action, but the Reds will be cautious. Blandino made the jump to Double-A last season after batting .294/.370/.438 with seven homers and seven steals in 80 games with High-A Daytona to begin the year.

Wilkins was optioned to minor league camp Saturday.

Wilkins spent most of last season at the Triple-A level, and that's likely where he'll spend the bulk of 2016 after failing to crack the Brewers' 25-man roster.

The Pirates reassigned Bell to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday. "For me, it's becoming the best player I can be no matter where I'm playing," Bell told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "If it's in Triple-A all year I have to continue to grow and be better for it. If I do get that call this year I want to be ready for it."

Bell went 3-for-19 with four walks and seven strikeouts in Grapefruit League action. He'll continue to work on his defensive transition from the outfield to first base. Bell got his first taste of Triple-A play in 2015, batting .347/.441/.504 in 121 at-bats and will look to gain further experience before potentially making his big-league debut later in the summer.

Howard went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the spring Thursday against the Rays.

The home run is notable because it came off lefty Matt Moore. Manager Pete Mackanin said Howard will open the year in a platoon with Darin Ruf at first base if he does not show improvement against lefties. Thus far this spring, Howard is 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, one strikeout and no walks against lefties. It's a small sample size, but if Howard keeps it up he might be able to open the year with a chance for some additional at-bats. He has hit just .184 with 22 home runs against lefties since the start of the 2012 season.

Rizzo returned to the lineup Thursday and went 0-for-1 with a walk, run, and stolen base.

Rizzo missed a game after being hit by a pitch Tuesday, but the injury was minor. His lofty position on most cheatsheets should be unaffected by this week's events.

Mets manager Terry Collins predicted Thursday that Cabrera (knee) will be available for Opening Day, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

Cabrera was diagnosed with a strained patella tendon last week, with reports initially suggesting that he'd likely have to start his season on the disabled list. It now seems he has a chance to be ready for Opening Day, though there hasn't been any update regarding when he might return to Grapefruit League action. Once healthy, Cabrera should get most of the playing time at shortstop, but he does have some competition in the form of Wilmer Flores.

Goldschmidt is just 5-for-23 (.217) in Cactus League play, with no home runs and three RBI.

The usual caveat about not putting too much stock into spring numbers applies here. Goldschmidt is a career .295 hitter with a .865 OPS in the regular season's opening month, so he usually gets rolling right away. Expect Goldschmidt to be a top fantasy contributor this year, barring injury.