MLB Player News
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Taylor Walls 3B | TB
Rays' Taylor Walls: Battling quad injury
Walls left Saturday's Grapefruit League game with a quad injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The injury is expected to be minor, as Walls is projected to return to the lineup Thursday. He had a solid spring prior to being sidelined, collecting five hits across 16 at-bats -- albeit with only one extra-base hit. Walls is slated to begin the season as the Rays' starting shortstop with Ha-Seong Kim (shoulder) sidelined.
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CJ Alexander 3B | LAD
Athletics' CJ Alexander: Exits Monday's game due to injury
Alexander (undisclosed) left in the seventh inning of Monday's spring game against the White Sox, Jessica Kleinschmidt of TheComeback.com reports.
Alexander was subbed into Monday's game at the top of the seventh inning for JJ Bleday, but the former exited the game with an apparent injury shortly after and was replaced by Colby Halter.
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Blaze Jordan 3B | STL
Red Sox's Blaze Jordan: Exits after hit by pitch
Jordan was lifted for a pinch runner in Saturday's 9-8 Grapefruit League loss to the Twins after being hit by a pitch in his eighth-inning plate appearance.
The Red Sox didn't provide any details on Jordan's condition after the game, but it's possible that he was just lifted as a precaution. The 22-year-old first baseman slashed .261/.305/.388 over 380 plate appearances at Double-A Portland in 2024 and could be headed back to the Eastern League to begin the 2025 season.
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Rafael Devers 3B | SF
Red Sox's Rafael Devers: On track for Wednesday debut
Devers (shoulders) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday versus the Twins, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
The Red Sox have been proceeding slowly with Devers as he builds up strength in both of his shoulders. Assuming he plays Wednesday, he will have plenty of time to get ready for the March 27 season opener versus the Rangers, but the question remains as to whether he'll play third base or serve as the Red Sox's designated hitter on Opening Day. Devers made it clear earlier in camp that he views himself as Boston's third baseman, even after the team signed Alex Bregman.
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Junior Caminero 3B | TB
Rays' Junior Caminero: Good to go Sunday
Caminero (back) is starting at third base and batting third in Sunday's spring game against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
The 21-year-old exited Thursday's game due to back tightness but will return to the field after taking a couple days off. Caminero is expected be a key lineup piece for the Rays in 2025 after he posted a .723 OPS in 43 games as a rookie last year.
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J.D. Davis 1B | LAA
Angels' J.D. Davis: Goes deep in spring game
Davis went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run Saturday in a Cactus League win over Milwaukee.
Davis plated the final two runs of the game with a blast to center field in the seventh inning. It was the first long ball of the spring for the veteran infielder, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee. Davis has struggled with a .182/.217/.364 slash line so far this spring, though he has a chance of making the Opening Day roster due in part to injuries to Anthony Rendon (hip), Zach Neto (shoulder) and Luis Rengifo (hamstring).
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Alex Bregman 3B | CHC
Red Sox's Alex Bregman: Homer, steal Friday
Bregman went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run, an additional run scored and a stolen base in Friday's spring game against Miami.
The homer was the second of the spring for Bregman, who has been productive in the Grapefruit League. He's batting .471 with four extra-base hits and eight RBI through seven contests. He's started at third base six times (one at DH) and batted second in the order in all outings. Third baseman Rafael Devers (shoulder) is due back this week -- he could debut Tuesday or Wednesday -- but is expected return as the designated hitter. Boston manager Alex Cora has yet to divulge his plans for third base.
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Tyler Freeman 3B | COL
Guardians' Tyler Freeman: Having strong spring
Freeman started in center field and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's spring game against the Athletics.
Freeman is raking in the Cactus League, batting .462 with a home run and three doubles through six contests. He's one of a bunch competing for a utility role and has appeared at second base (twice), shortstop, third base and center field (twice). Freeman could also find a regular gig at second base, which does not have a settled starter at this point in spring training. He's been the best among the group vying for the spot.
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Cam Smith 3B | HOU
Astros' Cam Smith: Chance to crack Opening Day roster
Despite a limited output in the minor leagues in 2024, Smith has a chance at cracking the Astros' Opening Day roster thanks to a strong showing in spring training, Michael Shapiro of Chron.com reports.
Across six spring training games and 15 plate appearances, Smith has recorded one triple, two home runs and seven RBI while drawing seven walks and scoring five runs. He had only 134 plate appearances in the minors in 2024 and didn't even play Triple-A ball, but if Christian Walker (oblique) isn't able to play for the start of the regular season, Shapiro relays that the Astros could shift Isaac Paredes to first base while starting Smith, Mauricio Dubon or Zach Dezenzo at the hot corner. Even if he weren't to make the Opening Day roster, Smith stands to have a chance at getting a call-up to the majors at some point during the 2025 campaign.
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Rafael Devers 3B | SF
Red Sox's Rafael Devers: Aiming to debut next week
Devers (shoulders) is targeting Tuesday or Wednesday for his Grapefruit League debut, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
That would be about a week after his originally scheduled spring debut, as Devers has been working on getting his timing down in live batting practice before testing things out in a game. He's been brought along slowly in camp due to last season's shoulder problems, but he doesn't seem to have had any physical setbacks. While Devers will have less than two weeks of spring games to prep for Opening Day, it doesn't appear his availability for that March 27 contest versus the Rangers is in danger.