MLB Player News

Lipscomb has been the most surprising prospect in camp for the Nationals and has a real chance of winning a spot on the Opening Day roster, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

A third-round pick in 2022, Lipscomb climbed up to Double-A Harrisburg last year and slashed .284/.310/.438 with 10 homers and an 18.2 percent strikeout rate over 80 games. The 23-year-old won a minor-league Gold Glove at third base in 2023, but he's played second base and shortstop as well in camp while batting .372 (16-for-43) with a 5:7 BB:K. He's peaking at the right time too, slugging his first homer of the spring Wednesday off Steven Matz while going 3-for-4 with four RBI against the Cardinals. The organization doesn't view him as a future utility player and wants him to play every day, but given that the Nationals have question marks at both second base and third base in Luis Garcia and Nick Senzel, it's not out of the question Lipscomb displaces one of them in the starting lineup to begin the season.

Wisdom (back) has not shown improvement in the past few days, and the team is awaiting imaging results to determine next steps, MLB.com reports.

Wisdom's back issue was initially believed to be fairly minor, though it's somewhat concerning that he hasn't shown improvement yet. At this point, it's unclear if the 32-year-old will be ready in time for Opening Day. Wisdom would likely only have a bench role for the Cubs if healthy, so his fantasy utility may be limited this year, unless he's able to seize a larger role than expected at some point.

Suarez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's spring game against Colorado.

Suarez hit his second spring homer and is 8-for-30 with three extra-base hits and five RBI in exhibition play. After dealing with a side injury earlier in camp, Suarez told Michael Reynolds of MLB.com that he's "healthy and ready to go." He'll serve as Arizona's primary third baseman.

The Padres selected Pauley's contract Tuesday.

With Manny Machado (elbow) limited to DH duties for the time being, Pauley will join the Padres' big-league roster to give the team another option at third base until Machado is healthy enough to return to the field. Pauley began 2023 in Single-A and managed to reach Double-A before the season ended, slashing .308/.393/.538 across 551 plate appearances between three levels. The 23-year-old's bat has remained hot over the course of spring training, and he could see a few big-league starts if his performance carries over into the regular season.

The Brewers optioned Capra to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Capra was a waiver claim earlier in the offseason and always seemed destined to begin the year at Nashville. The 27-year-old will provide utility infielder depth there.

Muncy (illness) went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Monday in the Dodgers' 5-2 exhibition win over the South Korean national team in Seoul, South Korea.

In the Dodgers' final tuneup before their regular-season opener Wednesday versus the Padres in Seoul, Muncy played nine innings at third base while slotting in as the No. 5 hitter in what appeared to be manager Dave Roberts' preferred lineup configuration versus right-handed pitching. Muncy had missed some workouts last week in Arizona while battling an illness, but his ability to join the Dodgers for the trip to South Korea and play nine innings Monday sets the stage for him to be included in the lineup for both contests of the season-opening series against the Padres this week.

The Pirates reassigned Perez to minor-league camp Sunday.

Perez signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates in the middle of the 2023 season. At the Triple-A level in 2023, he posted am OPS of .737 with 13 home runs.

The Pirates reassigned Alcantara to minor-league camp Sunday.

Over 98 games for the Triple-A affiliates of the Cubs and Diamondbacks in 2023, Alcantara posted a .776 OPS. The 27-year-old has posted a .687 OPS through 192 games in the majors across three seasons.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Sunday that Wisdom, who hasn't seen game action since Wednesday, is dealing with a back injury, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

It's not believed to be a serious injury, however, with Wisdom expected to rejoin the Cactus League lineup Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old also missed time early in camp due to quadriceps tightness, but he's hit well when available, going 6-for-16 with two homers in six spring games.

The Dodgers designated Lipcius for assignment Saturday, J.P. Hoornstra of DodgersNation.com reports.

He's the 40-man roster casualty as the Dodgers freed up a spot for Daniel Hudson. It's the second time in a little over two weeks that Lipcius has been designated for assignment, as the Tigers flipped him to the Dodgers in a trade shortly after removing him from their 40-man roster.