MLB Player News

Hiura was reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Hiura had an impressive performance this spring, as he went 11-for-28 (.393) with a home run and seven RBI over 17 games. It remains to be seen where Hiura will open the upcoming season, but he impressed at Low-A Wisconsin during the 2017 season. He slashed .333/.374/.476 and recorded 11 doubles over 27 games with Wisconsin.

Wade was assigned to minor-league camp Sunday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

Wade played well for Minnesota this spring, going 7-for-23 (.304) with two doubles and eight walks over 17 games. After hitting .292/.397/.408 across 117 games at Double-A Chattanooga last season, Wade could make his way up to Triple-A Rochester during the upcoming season.

Flores got the start in left field for Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals, going 3-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run.

The 26-year-old has never played a regular-season game in the outfield, but Flores is attempting to add more versatility to his resume as he prepares for a utility role in 2018. Wherever and whenever he plays, he should be a weapon against left-handed pitching: For his career, Flores has a .274/.318/.520 slash line against lefties but only a .255/.291/.392 line against righties.

Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

Hitting leadoff in this one, Cabrera went yard for the first time this spring, taking O's reliever Donnie Hart deep in the eighth inning. Mets manager Mickey Callaway hasn't tipped his hand yet with regard to who will hit at the top of the lineup, but the veteran infielder certainly didn't hurt his chances of winning the job with this performance.

Smith (quad) still has enough discomfort to prevent him from running and is unsure if he will be able to play in a game before the end of spring training, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

He essentially has no chance to break camp in the big leagues, so look for him to spend the first month or two of the season knocking any rust off and working on improving his conditioning at Triple-A. Adrian Gonzalez will start at first base for the Mets against righties, while Wilmer Flores and Todd Frazier also serve as options there early in the season.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in Friday's 4-1 victory over the Dodgers in Cactus League play.

While spring numbers should be taken with a grain of salt for proven commodities like Goldschmidt, his .433 on-base percentage through 11 exhibitions certainly hasn't made fantasy owners regretting their early-round investment in the first baseman. With the humidor in effect at Chase Field in 2018, it's generally expected that Goldschmidt will sacrifice a few home runs from the career-high-tying 36 he smacked a season ago, but he still profiles as an elite commodity at his position even in the most pessimistic projection systems.

The White Sox optioned Gillaspie to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

The move isn't surprising as Gillaspie struggled this spring with a .189 batting average and .514 OPS. The 2014 first-round pick will likely need to improve upon his 2017 slash line of .223/.297/.373 at Triple-A if he is to earn a major-league opportunity this season.

Abreu is batting .188 with two home runs in 32 spring at-bats.

Abreu's spring track record is better than what he's shown in 2018. Over his first four camps with the White Sox, he's batted .296, .383, .508 and .296 with an average of three homers. Abreu, who's been a consistent presence in the middle of the White Sox's order since he joined them in 2014, still has some time to find a groove at the plate. It would only take a two- or three-game hitting streak to get him back on track.

Gurriel (hand) began taking groundballs Thursday with more infield drills planned in the coming days, Oliver Macklin of MLB.com reports. "He's starting to do a little bit more," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's just starting the beginning stages of light ground balls... It's just a matter of keeping the swelling out of his hand and building his hand strength back up."

The Astros will have Gurriel work in the field, but have no plans yet to have him swing a bat. That, Hinch says, will be the final step in the rehabilitation process. Gurriel is still on pace to return mid-to-late April. Marwin Gonzalez is expected to get most of the at-bats at first base in place of Gurriel, whose spot on the 25-man roster will be filled by one of A.J. Reed, Tyler White or J.D. Davis. The eventual winner of that roster spot is expected to be a temporary addition and will not get many starts.

Mountcastle is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his right hand, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Look for this absence to extend closer to six weeks, as Mountcastle is one of the Orioles' top prospects and the team has no reason to push its luck. Once fully healthy, Mountcastle should report to Double-A Bowie. He struggled initially following his promotion to the Eastern League last season, slashing .222/.239/.366 after posting marks of .314/.343/.542 with High-A Frederick to begin the year.