MLB Player News

Rendon (personal) is expected to return to Angels camp on Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Rendon flew back to his home state of Texas on Wednesday to be with his wife, who is set to give birth to the couple's second child. After taking a few days off to spend time with his expanding family, Rendon will return to Arizona to resume preparations for his first season with the Angels. Expect him to make his team and Cactus League debut at some point next week.

Manager Terry Francona said that Ramirez is "fine" after he was hit by a pitch on the foot during batting practice Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Cleveland fans can breathe a sigh of relief as it appears Ramirez avoided any kind of serious injury. He was hit by a Cam Hill pitch and was seen hobbling off the field. The Indians kick off Cactus League play Saturday.

Ramirez was hit by a pitch on the foot and was seen limping into the dugout Thursday, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Hoynes said Ramirez was plunked by teammate Cam Hill, presumably in live batting practice. The Indians will hopefully provide an update in short order, once the training staff has had a chance to look Ramirez over.

Rendon is expected to leave camp "for a few days" to be with his wife when she gives birth to the couple's second child, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The absence clearly won't affect Rendon's standing with the team or readiness for the regular season. The 29-year-old is expected to add a significant boost to the Angels' lineup after signing a seven-year, $245 million contract with the team in December.

Devers (personal) rejoined the Red Sox for Wednesday's full-squad workout, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Devers missed the first few days of camp while celebrating the birth of his daughter. His late arrival to spring training may prevent him from cracking the lineup in Boston's initial Grapefruit League games, but he'll have plenty of time to get the reps he needs before Opening Day.

Chapman worked on his hitting mechanics throughout the offseason in an effort to improve his performance against elevated fastballs and offspeed pitches, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

At first glance, Chapman's career-high 36 home runs and 91 RBI imply there weren't many flaws with his work in the batter's box. However, the 26-year-old also slumped to a .194 average over his final 58 games of the campaign, which left him with a pedestrian .249 average for the season. Chapman is already an elite defender who's earned Gold and Platinum Gloves for his work at third base, but he enters spring training with a goal of hitting .300 and reaching the 40-homer mark for the first time in his career.

Bregman said Monday that he trimmed down from 215 pounds to 195 this offseason with a focus on increasing his mobility, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Perhaps in part due to the heftier build, Bregman saw his stolen bases fall for a second straight season, dropping from 10 in 2018 to only five in 2019. The strength of the Astros' lineup from top to bottom should again put a natural limit on Bregman's running opportunities, but even a modest bounce back in steals would help compensate for some expected regression in the power department after he clubbed a career-high 41 home runs last season. Though his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal has made Bregman a controversial figure this winter, his well-rounded profile still makes him a comfortable top-two-round selection in fantasy.

Paredes, who split last season between third base and shortstop, is focusing on third this spring, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The 20-year-old is not known as a strong defender at shortstop, and his 5-foot-11, 225-pound frame likely plays better at third base moving forward. Paredes is expected to begin the year at Triple-A Toledo, and if he plays well there, he could debut with the Tigers at some point this season.

Devers will make a delayed arrival to spring training since his girlfriend recently gave birth to their daughter, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

It's not clear when exactly Devers is expected to join the team, but his absence shouldn't impact much for the upcoming season. The 23-year-old took a major step forward in 2019 with a .311/.361/.555 slash line, 32 home runs, 54 doubles, 115 RBI and eight stolen bases in 156 games.

Moncada said he's not a fan of batting leadoff and prefers to hit second in the order, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

As manager Rick Renteria considers lineup possibilities, particularly the leadoff spot, he'll consider a player's comfort level. Moncada, who profiles as a candidate anywhere in the top four of the order, had a monstrous 2019 while hitting mostly out of the second spot. More than batting-order position, it was a change in plate approach that made the most difference. Moncada attacked hittable pitches earlier in his at-bats, resulting in a significant rise in production and a dramatic decrease in strikeouts (from 217 to 154). It should also be noted that his .315/.367/.548 slash was fueled by an astronomical .406 BABIP, which led MLB, so fantasy owners may want to factor in some regression in batting average. Still, the 24-year-old third baseman cranked 25 home runs and vows to steal more than the 10 bases he had in 2019.