MLB Player News

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.

Anderson went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run homer in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

He's got only two hits in his first 11 spring at-bats, but both have gone for extra bases, with Friday's home run being his first of the year. Anderson will need a big camp -- or for Martin Prado (knee) to remain on the shelf -- to win the Opening Day starting job at third base, but once Prado proves he's healthy he could well join the veteran exodus out of Miami. Either way, the 24-year-old Anderson figures to be the future at the hot corner for the Marlins.

Riley went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Thursday's split-squad game against the Tigers.

The Braves' top infield prospect had been 0-for-8 to begin the spring coming into the game, but he was able to flash his tremendous power potential. Riley is still only 20 years old and isn't yet on the 40-man roster, so there's no chance of him breaking camp with the big club, but after a strong showing at Double-A to end last season, he could force his way into the picture at third base very quickly if he keeps slugging.

Vargas (hand) has appeared in six Cactus League games for the Diamondbacks this spring after undergoing right hamate bone surgery in October.

Vargas was expected to be healthy by the time spring camp rolled around, and he's been given a shot to show his potential in front of the organization after appearing in 12 big-league games last season. In 11 at-bats thus far, Vargas has picked up two hits and one RBI while adding three walks and should continue to receive more reps throughout the spring.

Newman has played spring games at second base in addition to seeing time at shortstop, Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic reports. "It's adding versatility," manager Clint Hurdle said of putting Newman at second. "It's giving him options if something happens where he's not just a shortstop."

Although he hasn't played a position other than shortstop since high school, he made a fine diving play at second base Wednesday. Newman slashed a middling .267/.311/.363 in 509 minor-league at-bats in 2017, but he's hit .283 overall in the minors. While the 2015 first-round draft pick likely won't hit for power (11 homers in three seasons), he could eventually help fantasy teams in the batting average category.

Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said that Anderson remains behind Martin Prado (knee) at third base heading into this spring, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports.

Even though Prado is recovering from a late-July scope of his right knee, Hill stated that Anderson is "behind Prado for now" and will not move over to second base. At this point, Prado is expected to return to action around the middle of March, which would give him a few weeks to get back into the swing of things before Opening Day. In the event that he's unable to get healthy, Anderson will likely take over the starting gig at the beginning of the season. Furthermore, Anderson could change the organization's opinion with a solid spring camp. This is a situation to monitor throughout the Grapefruit League, and either way, Anderson should receive a fair number of at-bats in 2018 as the Marlins head into a new era.