MLB Player News

India will be a part of the Reds' 60-man player pool this season.

India's prospect star has faded over the past year, but he will now be eligible to make his MLB debut this season. He is not on the 40-man roster and will not be training with the Reds' best players at Great American Ball Park.

Mathias is expected to be named to the Brewers' 60-man roster pool Sunday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The 25-year-old was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio in March shortly after the suspension of spring training, but he'll now have another chance to stake his claim to a roster spot. The expanded 30-man roster to begin the season provides an opportunity for Mathias to potentially earn a bench spot with the Brewers.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talked about using the designated hitter position as a way to keep Marte's bat in the lineup while giving him a break in the field, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Marte had a breakout season in 2019 before he suffered a stress reaction in his back in September. The theory was that he played too much, particularly in center field, which was a new position to him. "It will give me a chance to get guys off their feet," Lovullo said of the DH. "Knowing the workload is going to be pretty heavy and we're going to be going full throttle, getting a guy off his feet for a day game in Colorado is probably something we would be addressing." The manager had every intention of giving Marte more downtime in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to MLB. The desire to rest him is still there during the 60-game sprint of a regular season. Only now, the rest will be in the form of having Marte serve as the DH. Others being considered for the DH rotation are Jake Lamb, Christian Walker, Eduardo Escobar and Kevin Cron.

Rodgers has been working out at a local high school during the MLB shutdown and has finished the rehab work from last year's shoulder surgery, Gerard Gilberto of MiLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old saw some action in spring training before things were shut down due to the coronavirus, going 3-for-7 in four games. Rodgers missed the second half of the 2019 season after undergoing surgery in June to repair the labrum in his right shoulder, limiting his season to 62 games between Triple-A and the majors. The potential for expanded rosters if/when baseball resumes likely means he'd be with the major-league club for the start of the season.

Gorman is not expected to make his big-league debut during the 2020 season irrespective of projected roster expansion, Mark Saxon of The Athletic reports.

Gorman received a spring training invite from the Cardinals and proceeded to impress, hitting .308 (8-for-26) with two doubles, a home run, four RBI, two walks and three runs across 13 Grapefruit League contests before play was paused. Nevertheless, despite how highly regarded he is within the organization, the fact remains Gorman is just 20 years old and has yet to play above the High-A level in his three professional seasons. Naturally, his strong showing against big-league arms generates plenty of reason for optimism in terms of his future prospects, but it seems almost a certainty Gorman's only game action this season occurs in developmental games the Cardinals may be allowed to conduct if the minor-league campaign is canceled.

Albies, Ronald Acuna and Charlie Culberson were able to take at-bats against live pitching this week, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The trio of hitters joined Mike Foltynewicz, Mike Soroka and Sean Newcomb at a high school in the Atlanta area for some more intense reps than the players had been getting in their respective batting cages and bullpen sessions, as each pitcher tossed three simulated innings of about 15 pitches against his teammates. Albies and the other Atlanta hitters appeared to be more than ready for a second training camp, and hopefully a regular season, to begin.

Hernandez has been able to hit in a batting cage twice a week despite the shutdown of most facilities, the utility man said Tuesday in an interview with David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports.

"We were able to find a facility that's opening just for us twice a week, and we're able to get our work in," Hernandez stated. He also indicated that he has been working out five days a week in preparation for a potential resumption of play. Should the 2020 season take place, Hernandez figures to again get plenty of playing time in a super-utility role in his sixth season with the Dodgers.

Vargas could ascend to Double-A by the start of the 2020 minor-league season but is more likely to begin with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Howard Cole of Sports Illustrated reports.

Vargas has demonstrated excellent hitting acumen in his first two minor-league seasons, slashing .314/.387/.447 with a 78:119 BB:K over 788 plate appearances. However, his power has thus far been limited to doubles, as he has 53 two-baggers versus only nine home runs as a professional. Defensively, Vargas may be better suited to play first base considering his limited range and average arm, per Baseball America.

Albies has continued to fine tune his swing mechanics while the season is suspended, particularly from the left side, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The young switch hitter has been better from the right side in his big-league career to date, but Albies showed improvement from the left side of the plate in 2019, boosting his OPS from .696 to .778 as he made an effort to pull the ball less often. As Bowman notes, Albies is one of only three switch hitters in major-league history to hit .275 or better with 50 or more homers and an OPS of .800 or better through his age-22 season, joining Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray.

Lux has been staying sharp during MLB's hiatus by working out at a friend's gym and taking batting practice at his high school field, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Lux has been slowed but not stopped by the suspension of play as he continues to work out for about two hours per day in order to stay ready for a potential resumption of play. When he isn't able to make the long drive to the gym (his friend has lent Lux a key so that he can work out alone) or hit outdoors (Lux lives in Wisconsin, where April can include harsh weather), the 22-year-old works out using dumbbells in a makeshift home gym. While Lux is not guaranteed to make the Dodgers' Opening Day roster, he's expected to play a major role on the squad at some point during the 2020 campaign.