MLB Player News

Mauricio went 0-for-2 with a stolen base in the Mets' Grapefruit League opener against the Marlins on Saturday.

After reaching on a throwing error by Connor Norby in the second inning, Mauricio promptly swiped second base. It was an encouraging sign for the 24-year-old infielder. Prior to missing the entire 2024 season after ACL surgery, Mauricio had gone 31-for-38 on the basepaths over 142 games in 2023 split between Triple-A Syracuse and the majors, and per Statcast he recorded a sprint speed in the 60th percentile. In his return last season, he went just 4-for-4 in 61 big-league games on steal attempts with a 15th percentile sprint speed. If Mauricio has regained his wheels and is more confident in the health of his knee a year further removed from surgery, he could make a surprising impact in the SB category if he's able to earn consistent playing time.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said Saturday after the signing of Ramon Urias that the roster addition wouldn't "get in the way, substantively, for the opportunities for (Gorman)," Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The 25-year-old infielder is in line to be the team's primary third baseman in 2026, and that won't change even after Urias was brought aboard. Urias does offer a short-side platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Gorman and is also a superior defender, so he'll get reps versus lefties and could handle third base while Gorman is used at designated hitter. Gorman is looking to bounce back from a two-year drought at the plate, having slashed just .204/.284/.385 with a 35.7 percent strikeout rate over that stretch.

Garcia is out of the lineup for Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Houston due to left hamstring tightness, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The Nationals are viewing Garcia as day-to-day, so it doesn't seem like he's dealing with anything too serious. The 25-year-old figures to open the season as Washington's primary second baseman, though he's also been taking reps at first base this spring.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said Saturday that the signing of Ramon Urias could lead to more playing time in the outfield for Fermin, Brian Murphy of MLB.com reports.

Fermin is an infielder by trade, but he's seen a bit of action in the outfield in the majors and at the Triple-A level. The 26-year-old slashed .283/.377/.417 in 70 appearances with the big club and .300/.428/.485 with a 45:25 BB:K at Triple-A Memphis in 2025. Fermin could see more of an opportunity at the big-league level in 2026 as the Cardinals go through a rebuild.

Urias signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Cardinals on Saturday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The 31-year-old Urias was spotted in the clubhouse ahead of the team's first Grapefruit League game. He will provide the Cardinals with defensive versatility, as he can play all around the infield. Urias is eligible at second and third base, but he is coming off his worst offensive season to date, having slashed just .241/.292/.384 in 112 games between Baltimore and Houston in 2025.

Marte batted leadoff and went 0-for-3 in Friday's spring game against Colorado.

Marte should get significant plate appearances over the next two weeks before he leaves camp to participate in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic. Leadoff is a familiar spot for Marte, who served atop the batting order 40 times in 2025. When not leading off, Marte is expected to bat second.

Song is slated to make his Cactus League debut in the coming days after recovering from an oblique injury he suffered while taking batting practice in January, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Song took his first live batting practice Thursday and said through an interpreter that he's "just waiting for a green light to play in a game." After primarily playing third base in Korea, Song is slated to fill a utility role with the Padres, seeing action at shortstop, second base and left field in addition to the hot corner.

Polanco isn't expected to play in any spring games until the second week of the Grapefruit League schedule, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.

The Mets are bringing a number of key position players along slowly this spring, including Luis Robert, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty (hamstring). Unlike those three, Polanco doesn't have any serious injury concerns -- he played 138 games in 2025 for the Mariners, his highest total since 2021 -- but the 32-year-old is getting a crash course on defense at first base, so an extra week of drills at the position before he works his way into game situations can only help.

Dubon will start at shortstop for Atlanta while Ha-Seong Kim recovers from finger surgery, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Acquired from Houston in the offseason to be the team's primary utility player, Dubon will instead see a near-everyday role out of the gate with Kim potentially sidelined into May. Dubon averaged 439.3 plate appearances for the Astros over the prior three seasons, slashing a modest .264/.299/.378 with little power or speed but seeing action at every spot on the diamond except pitcher and catcher.

Kim, Alex Freeland and Miguel Rojas were named by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts as candidates to start at second base to begin the regular season with Tommy Edman (ankle) slated to be placed on the injured list, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers don't have many positional battles this spring, but the second-base job appears to be pretty wide open due to Edman's ongoing recovery. Kim has also been tabbed to get time in center field behind Andy Pages, according to Roberts, but the second-year major-leaguer has a big opportunity to earn a regular spot in the lineup while Edman is out. It sounds like the winner of the positional battle will be determined by how each candidate performs during spring training, so Kim's Cactus League showing is certainly worth keeping an eye on.