MLB Player News

Garcia will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester ahead of Thursday's season opener against the Mets, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The 20-year-old initially missed the Opening Day roster and was optioned to the minors over the weekend, but he'll rejoin the big-league club with multiple players sidelined due to a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing. Garcia is likely to fill a depth role in the infield, but there's a chance he could see some playing time depending on which players are unavailable.

Manager Mike Matheny said Lopez would start at shortstop in the Royals' season opener Thursday against the Rangers, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Texas is bringing a right-hander (Kyle Gibson) to the mound Opening Day, so the lefty-hitting Lopez looks on track to at least occupy the strong side of a platoon at shortstop while Adalberto Mondesi (oblique) is sidelined to begin the season. Per Vernier, Matheny said that he expects Mondesi to miss "a couple of weeks" with the injury, so Lopez could be in store for a near-everyday role until around at least mid-April. With a .228 lifetime average and three home runs and one stolen base across 159 career games, Lopez shouldn't be counted on to deliver much fantasy value even if he receives steady at-bats.

India's contract was selected by the Reds on Wednesday.

India is expected to serve as Cincinnati's starting second baseman to begin the regular season with Eugenio Suarez at shortstop and Mike Moustakas at third. The 24-year-old impressed while playing second base at the alternate training site last year and will be in line to make his major-league debut to begin the 2021 campaign. India slashed .313/.441/.604 with three home runs, seven RBI and two stolen bases in 22 spring games this year.

The Royals recalled Lopez from their alternate training site Wednesday.

Lopez initially appeared set to miss out on joining the Opening Day roster, but Kansas City chose to bring him back following Adalberto Mondesi's surprising placement on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. The severity of Mondesi's injury isn't yet known, but Lopez could end up filling the strong side of a platoon at shortstop with Hanser Alberto for however long Mondesi is sidelined. While handling a near-everyday role for Kansas City the past two seasons, Lopez provided little fantasy value with a .228 average, three home runs, one stolen base, 59 runs and 43 RBI in 159 games.

Chavis failed to control the strike zone throughout spring training, which was a factor in the Red Sox sending him to the alternate camp, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Chavis lost out on the final roster spot to Christian Arroyo. Having minor-league options while Arroyo did not likely factored into the decision, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke to Chavis chasing pitches. "We talk about a few things that he needs to do to be the complete hitter we know he can be. I think at the end, he didn't control the strike zone. He was very aggressive chasing pitches out of the zone," Cora said. Chavis had a 1.129 OPS over the first 18 spring games, but the infielder went just 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts over the final seven contests. He'll start the season at Triple-A Worcester and work on understanding the upper edge of the strike zone and driving pitches in the zone.

Mendick was optioned to the White Sox's alternate training site Tuesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Mendick seemed to have a shot to break camp as a bench infielder, but the signing of Jake Lamb may have bumped him off the roster. He'll likely be one of the first names called up when the team needs an extra infielder, but the White Sox would have to suffer a few key injuries for him to see regular playing time.

Arroyo secured a spot Tuesday on Boston's Opening Day roster, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Arroyo won the battle for the remaining reserve infield job over Michael Chavis, who was optioned to the Red Sox's alternate site Tuesday. Marwin Gonzalez will likely be first in line to enter the starting nine should a regular infielder go down with an injury, so Arroyo doesn't appear set to earn much playing time early on during the season.

The Red Sox optioned Chavis to their alternate site Tuesday.

Chavis impressed at the plate this spring with an .892 OPS, but the fact that he had two minor-league options remaining likely worked against him in his bid for the Opening Day roster. With the likes of Enrique Hernandez, Marwin Gonzalez and Christian Arroyo all offering the ability to play multiple positions, Chavis' defensive versatility was also less valuable to Boston than it might have been to another club.

Mathias will not need surgery on his strained shoulder, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Even without surgery, Mathias will miss an extended period, as he's been placed on the 60-day injured list. He'll remain at the Brewers' spring training facility for rehab work. His exact return timeline isn't clear.

Lux went 2-for-3 with his first home run of the spring Sunday in the Dodgers' 6-5 Cactus League loss to the Angels.

Lux's home run came off southpaw Andrew Heaney, a welcome sign for a player who has thus far recorded just one hit over 23 career regular-season plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. With an .894 OPS this spring, Lux appears on track to break camp with the big club this season after the Dodgers chose to leave him at the alternate training site coming out of summer camp in 2020. While Lux's well-rounded offensive skill set gives him a high fantasy ceiling, the presence of Chris Taylor may make it difficult for the youngster to begin the season as anything more than part-time player. The two have typically alternated starts at the keystone throughout the spring, with both typically batting in the bottom third of the Los Angeles lineup.