MLB Player News

The Tigers reassigned Jung to minor-league camp Thursday.

This was expected, as the Tigers said before spring training started that Jung would not make the Opening Day roster. The 23-year-old has plenty of potential and figures to be in the team's future plans at third base. Jung got his first taste of Double-A last year and may see Triple-A action at some point this season, with an MLB promotion potentially on deck if he plays well in the minors.

Urias went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a Cactus League win over the Brewers on Thursday.

Urias's sixth-inning solo shot off potential Milwaukee closer Joel Payamps pushed Seattle's lead to 4-1 and served as his second homer of spring. The offseason addition has overcome some early adversity stemming from a shoulder injury, playing third base with regularity and putting together a .333 batting average with a double, a triple, the pair of round trippers and four RBI across nine exhibitions.

Dubon is a lock to make the Astros' Opening Day roster thanks to his defensive versatility, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Dubon logged a career-high 492 plate appearances in 2023 and posted a passable .720 OPS with 10 homers and seven stolen bases. He'll enter the 2024 season as a bench bat, but he would likely step into a more significant role should any of the Astros' regular starters be forced to miss time thanks to his ability to play any defensive position except catcher.

McNeil (bicep) is expected to make his Grapefruit League debut either in one of the Mets' split-squad games Sunday or in Tuesday's game versus the Cardinals, Anthony Rieber of Newsday reports.

Per Tim Britton of The Athletic, McNeil is slated to play defense only Thursday in a minor-league contest on the backfields of camp, then he'll advance to facing high-velocity pitching in a batting-practice session Friday. McNeil will take off Saturday, but if his left bicep is feeling fine after his workouts Thursday and Friday, he could get the green light to play Sunday versus the Nationals or Marlins. Despite his delayed start to spring training, McNeil is still expected to be ready to handle an everyday role at second base by the time Opening Day arrives.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Edman will open the season on the 10-day injured list after being shut down again due to lingering pain in his surgically repaired right wrist, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Edman will still be able to do some defensive drills and throwing, but he'll be shut down from swinging a bat for a least one week while the Cardinals wait for him to knock out all of the discomfort in the wrist. Though Marmol confirmed the 28-year-old will be headed to the IL, a clear timeline for Edman to make his season debut hasn't been made available. Dylan Carlson still seems to be the favorite to open the season as the primary center fielder for St. Louis, but prospect Victor Scott is breathing down his neck.

Bote went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Guardians, giving him four long balls this spring.

Bote has exploded for four home runs in 16 games this spring, which is as many as he hit back in 2022 across 41 games for the Cubs. The veteran utility player spent all of last season in the minors, and despite the strong spring, he'll likely serve as organizational depth again in 2024 with Chicago adding more infield depth in recent years.

The White Sox optioned Sosa to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

Sosa entered camp seemingly with a shot at winning one of the middle-infield spots for the White Sox, but he's being sent out even after going 4-for-13 with one home run in seven Cactus League contests. The White Sox look set to open the season with Paul DeJong and Nicky Lopez as their primary options up the middle.

The Reds reassigned Mathias on Wednesday.

Mathias had been vying for a utility gig on the Reds' Opening Day roster but didn't make a hard charge for a spot, as he went 0-for-5 in Cactus League play before being sent to minor-league camp in the latest round of cuts. If Mathias sticks around in the organization through the start of the minor-league season, he'll report to Triple-A Louisville.

Lux (illness) will start at second base and bat eighth in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Mariners, Kirsten Watson of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

Lux was away from camp Tuesday while he battled an illness, but he presumably made a full recovery from the ailment overnight. He'll return to the lineup at the keystone, the position he's expected to occupy this season after defensive concerns prompted the Dodgers to move him off of shortstop earlier in spring training.

Espinal went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

The 29-year-old infielder is batting only .200 (4-for-20) this spring, but that masks a strong performance at the plate that also includes a 5:2 BB:K. Unfortunately for Espinal, one of his main competitors for a utility spot, Ernie Clement, has been on fire in camp, going 10-for-25 with two homers and zero strikeouts. Given the defensive flexibility already provided by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Cavan Biggio and Davis Schneider, there probably isn't room for two more bench infielders on the 26-man roster, so Espinal will likely have to begin his season at Triple-A Buffalo and wait for injuries to open up a spot for him in the majors.