McKinstry is a candidate to serve in a platoon along with Javier Baez at shortstop to begin the regular season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

In this scenario, the left-hand hitting McKinstry would be on the strong side of the platoon, with Baez deployed against southpaws and Trey Sweeney beginning the year at Triple-A Toledo. In the long run, the 24-year-old Sweeney seems likely to seize the job at short, which would relegate McKinstry to more of a utility role like the one he's filled in recent seasons. McKinstry may see a short-term spike in value if he does in fact see regular time at short, though he remains a limited offensive player who probably won't make a huge fantasy splash.

Newman has a "leg up on the competition" to open the season as the Angels' starting shortstop while Zach Neto (shoulder) is sidelined, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Tim Anderson and Scott Kingery are Newman's chief competitors for the gig, but Newman is the safest choice since he's on a guaranteed contract and offers the steadiest glove of the group. While Neto has already been ruled out for Opening Day, it's not yet clear whether he will miss closer to the first week or the first month of the season. Newman slashed .278/.311/.375 with three homers over 111 games in 2024 with the Diamondbacks.

LeMahieu is slated to undergo an MRI on his sore calf Tuesday, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

The extent of LeMahieu's calf injury won't be known until the results of the MRI are read, though the veteran infielder expressed some optimism that he's dealing with a low-grade strain rather than a more significant issue. In any case, LeMahieu's return to the Grapefruit League lineup doesn't seem to be imminent, and he could be at risk of opening the season on the injured list. A potential LeMahieu absence to begin the campaign could open up more opportunities at third base for Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza.

Paredes hit second and went 0-for-2 with a walk in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After the game manager Joe Espada indicated that the Astros could open the season with Paredes hitting second in the order, in between Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. The appeal for the team is Paredes' walk rate, which is 11 percent for his career. If that position becomes permanent, Paredes would be in a good position to top his career high of 71 runs scored in a season.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Monday that Henderson (side) has turned a corner in his recovery, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Hyde added of Henderson that this is the "best he's felt" since he exited last Thursday's Grapefruit League contest with right lower side discomfort. The expectation is that Henderson should be able to resume baseball activities soon, with a return to game action coming shortly after that.

Peraza is a candidate to start at third base on Opening Day if DJ LeMahieu (calf) isn't ready to play by then, CJ Haddad of MLB.com reports.

Though LeMahieu has said that he doesn't think his calf injury is serious, his Opening Day status is nonetheless in doubt. Oswaldo Cabrera is the favorite to move into a starting role at the hot corner if LeMahieu is sidelined for any regular-season time, but Peraza could push for the potential opening with a strong spring. Through five spring games, Peraza has gone 4-for-12 with an RBI and three runs while Cabrera has batted 2-for-13, though the latter has a home run and a stolen base as part of his stat line.

Caminero went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

Caminero's hype has grown throughout the winter, as he first delivered a 1.003 OPS across 35 plate appearances in the Dominican Winter League. He now has three home runs across 16 plate appearances in spring training, with one of his long balls Sunday jumping off the bat at 109.3 mph, per Adam Berry of MLB.com. Caminero held his own across 177 plate appearances in the majors in 2024 by posting a .723 OPS, but he's showing the potential to improve upon those results in 2025.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday that Henderson (side) is improving but is still a few days away from resuming baseball activities, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Henderson is still tending to a sore lower right side, which he tweaked in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Toronto. The Orioles are hoping that a few more days of rest will be enough for Henderson to overcome the issue, though his return to the spring lineup still may be a week away or longer.

Ramos (elbow) will serve as the White Sox's designated hitter and No. 7 batter in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers.

Ramos is making his first start of the spring, as his lone other Cactus League appearance came as a backup DH in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Angels. Since he's still operating with some restrictions with his throwing while he works through a sore right elbow, Ramos may not be ready to play the infield anytime soon, but serving as a DH should still allow him to pick up enough at-bats this spring to keep him in contention for an Opening Day roster spot.

LeMahieu (calf) said Sunday that his injury isn't serious, but he'll likely be out for "a little bit," Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

The veteran infielder suffered the injury during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, and he now appears set to be sidelined for at least part of camp. LeMahieu labored through foot and hip injuries while posting a career-worst .528 OPS in 67 games during the regular season in 2024 before going unused throughout the playoffs during the Yankees' run to the World Series. Even though he entered camp as the frontrunner for the top job at third base, LeMahieu is off to an ominous start in 2025.