MLB Player News

The Royals optioned Rivera to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

Kansas City is expected to begin the season with a four-man bench that includes two outfielders (Kyle Isbel and Edward Olivares) and a first baseman/designated hitter in Ryan O'Hearn, which left no room for Rivera as a utility infielder. The lack of a versatile infielder off the bench shouldn't prove too consequential for the Royals, as everyday players Whit Merrifield, Nicky Lopez, Adalberto Mondesi and Hunter Dozier are all capable of playing at multiple positions.

Nevin was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Nevin played in 13 games this spring, batting .233 with two extra-base hits and six RBI, but he'll begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk. The 24-year-old spent the majority of 2021 with Norfolk, playing in 111 games and slashing .227/.305/.392 while launching 16 homers and driving in 52 runs. He also went 4-for-14 during a six-game stint in the big leagues last season, with three of his hits going for extra bases. Due to the state of the Orioles' overall roster, it's likely that Nevin will be back with the MLB roster at some point this summer.

Ramirez and the Guardians agreed to terms Wednesday on a five-year, $124 million contract extension, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The deal includes a full no-trade clause.

Ramirez will still be paid $12 million in 2022 and will automatically have his existing $14 million team option for 2023 picked up as part of the extension, which won't go into effect until the 2024 season. Though Ramirez may not be able to justify a nearly $25 million salary in his age-36 season during the final year of the deal, he's already more than overdelivered on the four-year, $26 million extension he signed with Cleveland in March 2017. In the five seasons since that deal, Ramirez has produced a collective 139 wRC+ while playing 150-plus games in three of those four years, not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Though he's now locked in long term with a Cleveland club that could be teetering toward a rebuild, Ramirez still had a compelling case for a top-five selection during fantasy drafts earlier this spring after he finished the 2021 season with a .266 average, 36 home runs, 27 steals, 111 runs and 103 RBI.

Suarez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in a Cactus League loss to the Reds on Tuesday.

Suarez went deep for the second time this spring in the second inning off Reds starter Hunter Greene. While the long ball is encouraging, there's very little doubt about Suarez's pop; however, the slugger's ability to get on base consistently otherwise is in question after he hit a career-low .198 last season with the Reds, and he didn't exactly assuage those concerns during the exhibition slate with a .143 average and 11 strikeouts across 33 plate appearances.

Moncada won't play in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Padres after tweaking his right side, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Moncada felt that he could play but didn't need to risk anything in an exhibition game. If the injury turns out to be worse than expected, Leury Garcia or Danny Mendick could spend time at third base.

Toro, who's hit .387 (12-for-31) across 13 Cactus League games, is a player president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto believes can provide strong offensive production all season, Brent Stecker of 710 ESPN Seattle reports. "We're seeing offense that looks - it's legit," Dipoto said. "He swings at the right pitches, he uses the whole field, he's doing it as both a left- and right-hander...he's going to be a guy who has high on-base skill, sprays the ball around the field."

The trade-deadline acquisition from last season had his moments after coming over from the Astros, but he seems to now be fully acclimated to Seattle this spring. Toro's switch-hitting capability and defensive versatility make him a particularly valuable utility asset, and he's even played some left field during Cactus League games in an effort to open up even more avenues to playing time.

Paredes was traded to the Rays on Monday in exchange for Austin Meadows and a 2022 draft pick, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Paredes has shown that he can play all over the infield, adding future versatility for Tampa Bay. The infielder was optioned to Triple-A just a few days earlier, so unless the Rays decided to bump him up to the Opening Day roster over the next few days, he'll begin the year at Triple-A Durham.

Duffy will split time in the short side of a platoon at second base to begin the 2022 campaign, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Tyler Wade will see most of the playing time at the keystone against right-handed pitchers early in the year, but Duffy and Jack Mayfield are expected to split at-bats against southpaws. Duffy appeared in 97 games with the Cubs last year, and he's gone 6-for-9 with a homer, a double, five runs and two walks across four Cactus League games this spring.

Burger (ankle) was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

Burger battled ankle discomfort in late March but returned to game action with a homer Thursday against the Reds. An encouraging 2021 campaign saw him make his major-league debut after missing two seasons to Achilles injuries and another due to the canceled minor-league season, but he's stuck behind a number of bat-first players on the White Sox's depth chart. Yoan Moncada has Burger's spot at the hot corner blocked off for the foreseeable future, while Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets are stuck battling for at-bats at designated hitter as long as Jose Abreu remains the team's first baseman.

Paredes was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Friday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Pareds missed some time during camp with a hand injury and won't end up making Detroit's Opening Day roster. He had a .625 OPS in 23 big-league games during 2021 and could receive a call-up when the Tigers require infield depth this season.