MLB Player News

Vargas is slashing .344/.364/.500 through 32 Cactus League at-bats with a home run, a steal and five RBI.

Vargas has done well in his competition with Nico Hoerner and David Bote for the everyday role at second base. Eric Sogard is also in the mix, and it's unlikely that the Cubs will be able to keep everyone when they break camp. Vargas slashed .196/.222/.314 last season across 24 games with the Cubs, Diamondbacks and Twins.

Starlin Castro will get the start at third base for Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, and the Nationals may be considering alternatives to Kieboom at the position, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

While manager Dave Martinez initially said Castro getting a look at the hot corner "doesn't mean anything," he also said: "No decisions have been made yet. But we want to make sure we take the 26 best guys that we can possibly take," which could be viewed as a little more ominous for Kieboom. The 23-year-old has struggled this spring, limping to a .171/.216/.286 slash line over 37 plate appearances with a 2:11 BB:K, and the Nats may be contemplating moving Castro to third base, installing Luis Garcia at second and letting Kieboom try to regain his confidence at the alternate site and eventually Triple-A to begin the season. Working in Kieboom's favor is that Garcia has arguably been even worse than him at the plate in Grapefruit League play with a .138/.286/.172 slash line, although his 6:2 BB:K has shown promise. Even if Kieboom does make the Opening Day roster, expect him to hit toward the bottom of the Nats' order and be a risky fantasy option in the short term.

Newman went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs in Monday's loss to the Orioles.

He's batting a healthy .700 in 20 spring at-bats. Perhaps more importantly, he's running the bases well and playing solid defense, showing that he's healthy entering the season. Barring an injury during the final week of Grapefruit League, Newman is likely to begin 2021 as the team's starting shortstop, ahead of Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker. Fantasy owners might recall that the 27-year-old stole 16 bases in 2019, so he could prove to be a sneaky source of steals in 2021.

McMahon went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's spring win over the Rangers.

McMahon hit his third Cactus League home run of the year with a solo blast in the first inning to put the Rockies on the board. The 26-year-old has hit .250 with four extra-base hits, four walks, seven RBI, seven runs and eight strikeouts over 15 spring games this year. McMahon should see most of his playing time at third base throughout the regular season but will also be a top option to fill in at second base over the first few weeks of the year while Brendan Rodgers (hamstring) is sidelined.

Duffy went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Monday's Cactus League game against the Angels.

Duffy has been steady if not spectacular this spring, registering a .300 average and .650 OPS across 20 at-bats. The veteran infielder is on a minor-league deal and likely won't figure into the Opening Day mix for the Cubs, though he gives them a depth option for later in the season. Duffy last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the Rays, slashing .252/.343/.327 across 46 games.

Peterson aggravated his thumb injury and has been informed he won't make the Opening Day roster, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The 30-year-old dealt with the thumb issue earlier in spring training, and the issue has resurfaced since he returned to action March 10. Peterson is in camp as a non-roster invitee and will focus on getting healthy in hope of an early-season promotion after failing to make the Opening Day roster.

Anderson has gone 9-for-31 (.290) through 12 Grapefruit League games with a double, a home run and a 0:14 BB:K.

The 27-year-old saw his strikeout rate rise to 28.8 percent last season, but Anderson's 45.0 percent rate this spring is something else entirely. There's little reason to put much stock in the small spring sample, as Anderson has wielded a consistent bat for the Marlins the last two years, slashing .259/.343/.467 with 31 homers and 104 RBI in 185 games. He still has time in camp to find his timing at the plate.

Davis has gone 5-for-22 (.227) through 10 Grapefruit League games and has yet to collect an extra-base hit.

His 8:4 BB:K is impressive, but otherwise Davis hasn't quite gotten his swing in sync this spring. The 27-year-old is still expected to open the season as the Mets' starting third baseman, but he'll need to supply something closer to his 2019 OPS of .896, rather than the tepid .760 mark he managed last year, to hang onto the job.

Longoria (foot) could take the field by the middle of next week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Longoria has been dealing with plantar fasciitis since the start of camp. He's been able to participate in spring training games but has been limited to designated hitter duty. If he does wind up being ready to field his position soon, he should still have enough time to be ready to go by Opening Day, but time is getting tight.

Newman is 9-for-14 with a 4:0 BB:K in Grapefruit League action.

Since returning from a hamstring injury two games ago, he has three hits in six at-bats. Newman struggled mightily in 2020 with a .224 batting average in 156 at-bats, but he posted a .308 mark in 493 at-bats in his rookie campaign. While he doesn't have glove skills of his competitors for the Pirates' shortstop job, Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker, his bat plays much better. He played nearly as much second base (20 games) as shortstop (23) last summer, so he could also slide over to the right side of the infield, especially if the team eventually trades starting second baseman Adam Frazier.