MLB Player News

Sosa was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.

Sosa played well for the Cardinals this spring, going 7-for-16 with three walks over 11 games. He'll head to Triple-A Memphis for the first time once the season begins. Sosa spent most of the 2017 season at High-A Palm Beach, hitting .285/.329/.347 over 51 games.

Asuaje went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's contest against the Indians.

Asuaje is batting .367 (11-for-30) with a homer and a steal this spring. His main competition, Cory Spangenberg, is performing equally well, and manager Andy Green hasn't shed light on who might have a leg up in the race up. If Asuaje were to win the job, he wouldn't be more than an empty batting average after hitting just four homers with no steals in 307 at-bats last season in the majors.

Senzel will make his third start of the spring at shortstop Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

The Reds are exposing Senzel to shortstop because they are more than happy with Eugenio Suarez at third base. There's a good chance Senzel reaches the majors this season and having a position other than third base to play will enable him to get consistent at-bats.

Longoria indicated Saturday he is battling left ankle joint soreness and is still considered day-to-day, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Longoria was scratched from Friday's Cactus League game with what was originally reported as a sore heel. Regardless, the injury doesn't appear severe as the 32-year-old said, "It's nothing to be nervous about...When I feel ready I'll play."

Longoria was scratched from Friday's Cactus League game with a sore heel, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Longoria should be considered day-to-day and could be back in the lineup later this weekend, though the team may choose to give him a couple days off to rest. The third baseman is coming off a 2017 campaign where he slashed .261/.313/.424 with 20 home runs and 86 RBI with Tampa Bay. He was replaced by Pablo Sandoval in Friday's lineup.

Muncy will miss time while recovering from a mild oblique strain, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Muncy is in camp as a non-roster invitee and will begin the 2018 season at the minor-league level after spending all of last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City. At this point there isn't a clear timetable for his return, but this injury shouldn't keep him sidelined for too long.

Rendon has primarily hit cleanup for the Nationals through five spring starts. He hit second in the one game where he was not hitting fourth.

He primarily hit sixth (296 plate appearances) for the Nationals last season, while also getting starts hitting fifth (131 plate appearances), third (65 plate appearances), fourth (59 plate appearances), second (43 plate appearances) and seventh (10 plate appearances). It was a bit of a running joke that former manager Dusty Baker batted Rendon outside the top four in the Nationals' lineup, and it seems he is being groomed for a more prominent spot in 2018. Even with his less-than-optimal placement last year, he still managed 81 runs and 100 RBI. If he is hitting cleanup and can stay relatively healthy, he should improve on both those marks this season.

Arenado is 4-for-18 (.222) with two homers through eight spring training games.

The hits aren't falling as much as they did last year, but it's hard to be disappointed with the solid power output from the star third baseman so far this spring. The Rockies are experimenting with Charlie Blackmon as their three-hole hitter, which would move Arenado into the cleanup spot if it comes to fruition. Either way, look for Arenado to have plenty of RBI opportunities this season as he hits in the meat of a rising Rockies lineup.

Wisdom went 0-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's Grapefruit League loss to Houston.

Wisdom has spent the last two seasons at Triple-A Memphis, and he had a particularly good campaign last year when he slashed .243/.310/.507 and hit 31 home runs in 456 at-bats. Wisdom is off to a rough start so far, as he's just 3-for-17 with three strikeouts. If he gets a look with the Cardinals this season, it will likely be a temporary assignment that occurs when injuries deplete the team's depth in front of him.

Longoria went 2-for-2 with a home run, an RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's 9-4 win over the Rangers.

Like most of the Giants veterans, Longoria has been eased into action this spring, logging just nine at-bats so far. The 32-year-old will be asked to take over everyday third base duties -- a position that was a black hole offensively for the Giants over the past couple of years -- after coming over from Tampa Bay via trade during the offseason. The slugger saw his power come back down to earth (20 home runs and a .163 isolated power rating) after his impressive 36-homer campaign in 2016. That decline in power combined with a move to cavernous AT&T Park could theoretically result in Longoria's first season below 20 home runs in over five years. That said, batting in the heart of the order in a station-to-station offense like San Francisco's could inversely result in more run-producing opportunities for the veteran.