MLB Player News

The Rays optioned Arroyo to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Arroyo, the primary get for the Rays in the December deal that sent Evan Longoria to the Giants, was unable to win a bench spot with the Tampa Bay after going 7-for-22 at the plate during Grapefruit League play. Since the 22-year-old is better served playing every day in Durham than being limited to utility work with Tampa Bay, Arroyo's demotion doesn't come as a surprise. Arroyo could push Matt Duffy for time at third base or Adeiny Hechavarria for reps at shortstop later this season once the Rays believe he's ready for a full-time role in the big leagues.

The Red Sox reassigned Chavis (oblique) to their minor-league camp Sunday.

The third baseman was one of 11 players that Boston sent back to the minors, but the only major prospect among the lot. Chavis likely would have enjoyed a lengthier stay at big-league camp if not for suffering an oblique injury early on in spring training that he's still getting over. It's expected that he'll be able to face hitters soon, which may allow Chavis to open the season on the field rather than on the 7-day disabled list. Look for the 22-year-old to begin the campaign with Double-A Portland or Triple-A Pawtucket.

Altuve is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two home runs and four RBI this spring, but admits he needs to be more consistent, Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle reports. "Right now I see one good at-bat and the other one not so good," he said. "When I show up one day and I have three or four quality at-bats in a row that's a good sign."

Altuve the professional hitter sees where he needs to improve, but to the outside observer's naked eye, the 2017 AL MVP looks to be in midseason form. He's not concerned with the numbers, but rather how often he's making hard contact. That will come with more at-bats. At the very least, his impeccable management of the strike zone is intact. Not many balls are missing his bat. Altuve's whiffed just three times over 20 plate appearances and, as a corollary to his hard-contact rate improving, his strikeout rate will shrink with more plate appearances.

Kemp went 0-for-2 in Wednesday's game against the Marlins and is hitting .148 (4-for-27) through 11 spring games.

Kemp, normally an infielder, got the start in left field as the Astros are trying to get him comfortable to the outfield. Yulieski Gurriel's hand injury has created an opportunity for several of Houston's Triple-A crowd. Along with Kemp, that includes Derek Fisher, Tyler White, Colin Moran, A.J. Reed and J.D. Davis. The winner of this battle will have a small role and is expected to have a short stay with Houston. Gurriel is due back from the injury mid-April and then will have to serve a five-game suspension.

Chavis (oblique) took grounders and a few dry swings Tuesday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Chavis is working his way back from an oblique injury suffered in late February and is out indefinitely. He's now at least back on the field but has yet to take proper batting practice, so he is still a ways away from returning to game action.

Barreto is swinging well enough that the A's may have a tough time keeping him off the Opening Day roster, Julian McWilliams of The Athletic Bay Area reports.

Manager Bob Melvin has reportedly been impressed by the 22-year-old infielder this spring, but notes that the A's don't have a roster spot for him at the moment. Barreto hit .290/.339/.456 in 111 games at Triple-A Nashville last season, but just .197/.250/.352 with a 43.4 percent strikeout rate in 25 games with the big-league club. He's 5-for-17 with two homers this spring. Jed Lowrie and Marcus Semien are currently blocking him at the middle-infield positions.

Andrus reported feeling good after his first spring action Friday, Dave Sessions of MLB.com reports.

Andrus, who did not play Saturday, missed the first week of games due to back spasms. He should begin to play regularly soon, per assistant general manager Jayce Tingler.

Barreto, who went 1-for-3 with a run in Thursday's 9-4 Cactus League loss to the Rangers, is hitting .308 (4-for-13) with two triples, one home run, three RBI, a stolen base and five runs over his first five spring training games.

The 22-year-old shortstop is once again showing well in spring play following a 2017 exhibition slate in which he slashed .481/.500/.667 with a triple, a home run and five RBI over 16 games. Barreto was nowhere near as successful in his regular-season major-league stint last season, however, generating a .197/.250/.352 line in 76 plate appearances. Strikeouts have proven to be a bit of an Achilles' heel for him at the Triple-A level (27.6 percent whiff rate over 510 plate appearances with Nashville in 2017), and unsurprisingly, the issue was exacerbated against big-league arms last season, leading to Barreto going down on strikes in almost half his plate appearances (43.4 percent). Consequently, contact rate and pitch selection will undoubtedly continue be priorities for him, and improvement in both areas figures to be key in him getting to and sticking on the major-league roster at some point in 2018.

Semien, who went 1-for-2 with a walk in Thursday's 9-4 Cactus League loss to the Rangers, is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with a walk and a run over four spring training games.

Semien is reportedly a strong candidate to handle leadoff duties to open 2018, although that figures to get definitively sorted out over the course of the spring. Playing on a one-year, $3.125 million deal this season, Semien will have plenty of motivation to bounce back from last year's injury-riddled campaign. Wrist surgery limited the 27-year-old to 85 games in 2017, although he was able to produce a respectable 10 home runs and 40 RBI in that relatively modest sample. Now at full health and looking for a long-term deal, Semien will strive to provide another boost to a batting average that he pulled up from a 2016 figure of .238 to .249 last season, while also getting back over the 20-homer mark that he'd reached two campaigns ago.

Andrus (back) is in the lineup Friday for the first time this spring, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Andrus had been sidelined with back spasms since the start of camp. He should have plenty of time to get his at-bats in and get up to speed by the time the season starts, so there should be little concern about him going forward.