MLB Player News

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch confirmed Sunday that Castro has secured a spot on the Opening Day roster, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Castro is expected to see most of his work this season as a backup infielder, though his experience at all three outfield spots gives him an added layer of versatility. When given regular playing time, Castro has shown the ability to hit for contact at a high rate (.291 lifetime average, 22.2 percent strikeout rate), but a lack of power and speed limits his fantasy intrigue.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Sunday that Rojas will be out for "weeks, not days" after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Rojas was set to start on the left side of Arizona's infield, but he'll now be sidelined for Opening Day with the oblique strain. The 31-year-old could be sidelined for at least the first month of the campaign, though he doesn't yet have an official timeline for his return. Sergio Alcantara and Drew Ellis could see more playing time as a result of the injury.

The Cardinals optioned Donovan to Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The 25-year-old submitted a .689 OPS over 32 at-bats during spring training and drew praise from manager Oliver Marmol for his versatility and plate approach, so it wouldn't be surprising if Donovan gets a look with the big club early on during the 2022 season. At least for the start of the campaign, however, he'll head to Memphis to play on an everyday basis.

Albies was scratched from Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox with general soreness, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Albies was penciled in to serve as the designated hitter Sunday, but he'll instead take the day off to rest up. The 25-year-old is expected to be back in the lineup for the final exhibition games of spring Monday and Tuesday, so there doesn't appear to be much concern regarding the soreness.

Drury homered Friday and has a chance to win the Reds' last offensive roster spot, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The Reds don't have an obvious candidate to begin the season as their right-handed DH, which is where Drury fits in. He has some power upside, which obviously would play well in Cincy, but he'll struggle to hit for average, if he makes the team.

Clement has made the Guardians' Opening Day roster, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Clement secured a reserve role with the major-league club after he hit .455 with two home runs, three doubles, eight RBI, five runs and four strikeouts across 10 Cactus League appearances this spring. He slashed .231/.285/.339 with three homers, 16 runs and nine RBI across 40 games with Cleveland last year.

Kim is slashing .300/.417/.350 with a double, an RBI, four runs and a stolen base over 24 Cactus League plate appearances.

Kim's importance to the Padres' lineup grew considerably with the news that Fernando Tatis will miss multiple months due to a wrist injury. The predominant belief has been that Kim will open the campaign as San Diego's starting shortstop, and he hasn't done anything this spring to fall out of favor. However, the emergence of prized prospect CJ Abrams -- who is hitting .333 with a pair of homers in Cactus League action -- has introduced an alternate scenario in which Abrams could be fast-tracked to the majors, in which case Abrams would likely log plenty of time at shortstop.

Barreto was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Barreto joined the Astros on a minor-league deal in late March, and he'll begin the 2022 campaign at Triple-A Sugar Land. Across three appearances this spring, the 26-year-old went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI.

Manager Joe Maddon said Saturday that Mayfield has made the Angels' Opening Day roster, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Mayfield has performed relatively well in spring training, slashing .292/.346/.625 with two homers, two doubles, eight RBI, three runs and two walks in 12 Cactus League games. He appeared in 87 games between the Mariners and Angels last year, and he'll be part of a platoon at second base to begin the 2022 campaign.

Altuve plans on stealing more bases this season, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

Players claiming they're about to steal more bases is nearly as common a spring trope as the classic "best shape of my life" line. Altuve's bat hasn't dipped too far from his peak levels, but he's stolen a total of just 13 bases over the last three years, a low number for someone who had six straight seasons with over 30 steals earlier in his career, with a personal best of 56 in 2014. His sprint speed dropped from the 89th percentile in 2020 to the 72nd percentile last year, however, so it's probably unwise to project him for many more than the five bases he stole in 2021.