MLB Player News

Lewis was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Wednesday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Lewis was a non-roster invitee during spring training, but an MRI during intake testing revealed a torn ACL that should force him to miss the entire 2021 campaign. The 21-year-old will undergo surgery Friday with a recovery timeline between nine and 12 months. Lewis is one of the top prospects in Minnesota's system and has displayed impressive talent in the minors, but his major-league debut will now have to wait until at least 2022.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday that Bregman has been held out of workouts this week due to a sore hamstring, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Bregman presumably won't be cleared in time to play in the Astros' Grapefruit League opener Sunday versus the Marlins, but Baker didn't suggest the third baseman's hamstring issue was overly worrisome. The 26-year-old will be looking to rebound this season after taking a big step back in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, when he slashed .242/.350/.451 with six home runs and no stolen bases over 42 games.

The Twins plan to give Donaldson more frequent rest this season, especially early in the year, to try to help him avoid the calf injuries that limited him to 28 games last season and caused him to miss the playoffs. "I'm not going to be playing in every single game early on, but to kind of build into getting game-ready," Donaldson told MLB.com.

Donaldson said he worked on his running form in the offseason to reduce stress on his calf muscles. Donaldson is healthy as spring training begins, but he may be used sparingly in exhibition games to ease him into the regular season. Luis Arraez could start at third base a game or two each week early on to give him rest. Donaldson has had chronic calf injuries -- he missed 38 games with a right calf strain in 2017 -- and played just 52 games in 2018 due to left calf and shoulder injuries. Donaldson remains a top power option at third base, but he comes with considerable injury risk.

Rendon arrived at camp Monday, Trent Rush of Angels Radio AM830 reports.

There had been some concern that weather issues in Texas would delay Rendon's arrival, but he was ultimately able to report on the same day as the rest of the Angels' position players. The third baseman will look to build upon a solid first season in Los Angeles during which he slashed .286/.418/.497 with nine home runs and 31 RBI.

Moncada's throwing has been limited thus far in camp due to arm soreness, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

While it would certainly be preferable for Moncada to show up to camp without an injury, the White Sox don't seem overly concerned about this particular issue, framing it as simply an effort to err on the side of caution as it's still February. Moncada should have plenty of time to get up to speed by the start of the regular season unless the arm issue develops into something more serious.

Burger was listed by manager Tony La Russa as a potential designated hitter this season, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Andrew Vaughn is considered the favorite for the job, but Burger also has some prospect pedigree himself. He hit .271/.335/.409 at the Low-A level in 2017 after being taken 11th overall in that year's draft, but Achilles issues wiped out his next two seasons. With the minor leagues canceled last year, he was forced to join an independent league to get some at-bats. His lack of high-level minors experience means he's probably a long shot at best to crack the Opening Day squad, but he's on the team's 40-man roster so it might not be too long before he gets his shot.

Vargas will be competing for the starting job at second base this spring but will likely fill a bench role, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Vargas will compete with David Bote and Nico Hoerner for the starting job at second base, but the former will most likely serve as a utility infielder. That doesn't give Vargas a ton of fantasy appeal, especially after posting a .196/.222/.314 line in 2020, but he could be an injury or two away from more regular at-bats.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed Monday that Hayes would open the season as the team's everyday third baseman, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Hayes was one of the few silver linings in a dreadful season for the Pirates in 2020, batting .376 with 14 extra-base hits over his first 92 plate appearances in the majors. The 24-year-old had already been touted as a Gold Glove-caliber defender while coming up through the Pirates' farm system, but the stellar showing at the plate was more unexpected. Considering his average was propped up by a .450 BABIP, a fair dip in that department should be expected over the course of a full season in 2021. Even so, Hayes should still provide value on volume of plate appearances alone, as he'll likely be locked into a premium spot in the batting order throughout the 2021 campaign, given the Pirates' lack of appealing alternatives.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone suggested that Urshela (elbow) may be ready to play in the team's first exhibition game Sunday against the Phillies, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Even if the Yankees decide to hold Urshela out of Sunday's game, the 29-year-old doesn't sound like he'll have to wait long to make his spring debut. The third baseman required surgery in December to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, but he looks to be close to 100 percent as the Yankees open spring training.

Newman (knee) was spotted fielding grounders at shortstop Monday during the Pirates' first workout for position players, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Newman's presence on the field to begin spring training suggests that he's made a full recovery from the left knee contusion that sidelined him late in the 2020 campaign. Before the injury surfaced, Newman was in the midst of a brutal season, with his .557 OPS over 172 plate appearances representing a 242-point drop from 2019. After being locked in as a full-time player heading into last season, Newman will likely now have to battle Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker for a starting job at shortstop this spring.