MLB Player News

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.

Polanco is slated to enter the upcoming season as Minnesota's starting shortstop after his strong finish to the 2017 campaign, Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune reports.

Polanco had a rocky start to the 2017 season. His inconsistent performance led to him being withheld from the starting lineup for eight of Minnesota's 10 games at the latter end of July. However, he was stellar upon his return. Over his next 55 games, Polanco hit .316/.377/.553 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI. While there have been concerns about his defensive abilities, Polanco's finish at the plate seems to have secured him regular playing time entering 2018.

Ngoepe could break camp with the Blue Jays as a reserve infielder if Troy Tulowitzki (heel) is unable to go by Opening Day, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Blue Jays are expected to carry Aledmys Diaz and Yangervis Solarte as reserve infielders to open the season, but the team may need some additional infield depth if Tulowitzki's heel isn't fully recovered by Opening Day. If Tulowitzki were to open the year on the shelf, Ngoepe, who hit .222/.323/.296 in 28 games during his major-league debut last season, and prospect Richard Urena would be candidates to fill Toronto's final bench spot. Either way, barring any other injuries to the Blue Jays' infield (or a Josh Donaldson trade), the big-league stint would likely be short-lived, and thus uninteresting from a fantasy perspective.

Semien will likely start the 2018 season as Oakland's leadoff hitter, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Semien dealt with a wrist injury a season ago, and played in just 85 games for the A's. The 27-year-old hopes to stay healthy in 2018 and looks to improve at the plate after hitting .249 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI. There's plenty of power in his bat, as he finished with 27 home runs and 75 RBI in 2016. Expect Semien to begin the season in the leadoff spot and to start at shortstop for the Athletics.

Chavis recently suffered an oblique injury and will be sidelined indefinitely, John Tomase of WEEI.com reports.

The injury occurred while swinging a bat a few days ago, according to Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com. The Red Sox will certainly be cautious when it comes to the health of one of their premier hitting prospects. The club did not offer an approximate return date for the 22-year-old, so we'll just have to wait and see how quickly he progresses from the injury.

Torres started at second base in the Yankees' Grapefruit League opener, but manager Aaron Boone insists the competition for the position is still wide open, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reports.

Torres appears to be the most talented player involved in the competition, which also includes Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade, but he still could start the season in the minor leagues. The Yankees could look to keep Torres down long enough to earn an extra year of team control, similar to what the Cubs did with Kris Bryant in 2015. Even if Torres blows out his competition this spring, it may not matter -- Bryant hit .425/.477/1.175 that spring. It may not be talent or performance which decides who the Yankees start at second on Opening Day, but if Torres performs as expected, the job will be his before long.