MLB Player News

Walls (oblique) resumed light baseball activities Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Walls has been dealing with a strained oblique since the start of camp but is "progressing well," Rays manager Kevin Cash said Thursday. It sounds like he probably has a ways to go before being cleared for game action, though.

Miranda could be limited to first base and designated hitter at the start of the season if his right shoulder soreness hasn't totally subsided by then, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Miranda is slated to handle the hot corner in 2023 after spending most of 2022 at first base, but it's possible those plans could be put on hold for a bit. It would make sense for the Twins to exercise caution here, especially if Alex Kirilloff (wrist) isn't quite ready to play first base. Miranda has played three games this spring, all out of the DH spot. If he's not able to play third base initially, it could open up starts at the hot corner for Donovan Solano, Kyle Farmer, Nick Gordon (ankle) and Willi Castro. If Miranda's shoulder is still an issue later in the summer, Royce Lewis (knee) could factor into the third base mix as well.

Bregman (finger) is in the lineup for Friday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The third baseman is ready to make his spring debut after fracturing his left index finger during the World Series last fall. He will bat cleanup behind Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and Kyle Tucker. With Opening Day still about a month out, Bregman has plenty of time to prepare for the start of the season.

Nevin is 4-for-10 with a pair of home runs through four Grapefruit League games.

Nevin is competing for playing time at the corner infield spots in Detroit, and he's making a good impression early in camp. The 25-year-old struggled last year with the Orioles, registering a .197/.299/.261 slash line across 58 games. He'll likely begin the year backing up Spencer Torkelson at first and possibly Nick Maton at third, so Nevin probably won't have a ton of fantasy appeal, though he could earn a larger role if he keeps hitting.

Miranda (shoulder) withdrew Wednesday from competing for the Puerto Rican team in the World Baseball Classic, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Miranda recently experienced right shoulder soreness in Twins camp, so he'll cancel his plans to play in the upcoming WBC and focus on his rehab. The issue doesn't seem to be a huge concern -- he's taken three Grapefruit League at-bats out of the designated-hitter spot -- but now the 24-year-old can simply focus on being ready to handle third base for Minnesota once he's cleared to throw again. He posted an encouraging .751 OPS with 15 home runs and 66 RBI over his first 125 big-league games in 2022.

LeMahieu is Yankees manager Aaron Boone's preference to bat leadoff, the skipper intimated to Marly Rivera of ESPN.com on Wednesday.

LeMahieu might not even technically have a set starting spot, but he'll essentially be an everyday player if healthy and all indications are that he's past last year's toe issue. The veteran infielder has some bounce-back potential in fantasy if he is indeed placed at the top of the batting order, as he'll have tremendous runs and batting average upside.

Cabbage (forearm) has appeared in each of the Angels' first four Cactus League games, going 2-for-7 with a double and two walks.

Cabbage didn't appear in any minor-league games after mid-May of last season due to a left forearm fracture, but he was cleared for the start of spring training and appears to be making up for the lost time by getting plenty of at-bats early on during Cactus League play. Though he's seen most of his time in the minors in the corner outfield, Cabbage has been deployed exclusively as a designated hitter or first baseman so far this spring, so it's possible his left throwing shoulder isn't yet back to 100 percent. Regardless, Cabbage looks like he'll be ready to go for the start of the upcoming minor-league season, with Triple-A Salt Lake or Double-A Rocket City being his most likely destination.

Miranda has been limited to designated hitter duty early on in camp because of a sore right shoulder, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told Nick Nelson of TwinsDaily.com Tuesday.

The shoulder evidently doesn't bother Miranda at the plate but is causing some issues when throwing. It does not sound like a major concern at this point, but it's unclear when Miranda might be cleared to play the field. He's slated for third base duties in 2023 after spending most of 2022 at first base.

Urshela is expected to play a good amount of shortstop this spring, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

The position is not totally foreign to Urshela, who has 43 appearances at shortstop over seven major-league seasons. Angels manager Phil Nevin noted that Urshela lost some weight over the offseason in anticipation of maybe getting more of an opportunity at short. Urshela will also serve as insurance at both corner infield spots with Jared Walsh and Anthony Rendon each coming back from major injuries.

Bregman (finger) will make his Grapefruit League debut Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Bregman fractured his left index finger during Game 6 of the World Series and has been easing into things this spring. The injury will keep him from participating in the World Baseball Classic but is not expected to affect his availability for Opening Day. Bregman posted an .820 OPS with 23 home runs in 2022.