MLB Player News

Valencia (calf) claimed that he could've played in Monday's Grapefruit League game if it was the regular season, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

The veteran infielder is seemingly being extra careful with his injury since it's still spring training, but it's good to hear that there is little concern about the issue. Expect Valencia to return to game action sometime in the next couple days.

Rendon went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.

Tony Two-Bags is still looking for his first homer of the spring, but he's otherwise had little difficulty getting locked in at the plate, going 10-for-28 through 13 games. New Nats manager Dave Martinez seems to have Rendon ticketed for the cleanup spot in the lineup, and hitting behind Trea Turner and Bryce Harper on a regular basis should give him more than enough opportunities to post his second consecutive 100-RBI campaign.

Urshela left Monday's game with right hamstring tightness, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Urshela suffered the injury while running to second base on a double. Until further notice, consider Urshela day-to-day. The injury comes at an unfortunate time for Urshela, as he's compiled an impressive .500 batting average and 1.369 OPS over 18 games this spring while competing with Erik Gonzalez for a reserve infield spot with the big club.

Senzel will begin the 2018 season at Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

During the 2017 season, Senzel played 62 games at High-A Daytona and 57 games at Double-A Pensacola. Between the two he combined to hit .321/.391/.514 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI. After dazzling with Pensacola and hitting .340 with a .973 OPS, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that the 22-year-old sensation will open the year at Triple-A Louisville. Although he's primarily played the hot corner to this point, Senzel will start at second base with Louisville.

Urshela left Monday's game against the Giants with an undisclosed injury, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Urshela had to be pulled from Monday's game after appearing to hurt himself while running to second and picking up a double. Heading into Monday's game, Urshela had gone 20-for-41 (.488) with three home runs over 17 outings this spring. Additional information regarding his status should be available in the near future.

Senzel was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Senzel appeared in 15 games this spring, over which he went 8-for-28 (.286) with two doubles. Senzel worked his way up to Double-A Pensacola last season, where he hit an impressive .340/.413/.560 over 57 games. Although it remains to be seen if he'll return to Pensacola for the start of the upcoming season, the 22-year-old seems bound to make his debut at Triple-A Louisville in the near future.

Asuaje is in the lead over Cory Spangenberg in the battle to become the Padres' starting second baseman, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Neither player has a particularly impressive career resume, with Asuaje hitting .266/.328/.356 over parts of two seasons and Spangenberg hitting .266/.324/.401 over parts of four. Asuaje has hit .378/.396/.711 this spring and is considered a better defender than Spangenberg, which could give him the edge.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria said Sunday that Moncada would open the season as the club's leadoff hitter, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score Chicago reports.

Moncada will probably remain a sinkhole in batting average until he dramatically curbs his 34.3 percent career strikeout rate, but his willingness to draw walks props up his on-base percentage and makes him an ideal fit in the leadoff spot. With the top-of-the-order role should come more involvement in the run game, an area where the speedy Moncada has lagged more than anticipated since reaching the majors. Moncada swiped 45 bags at a 78.9 percent success rate in the minors in 2016, suggesting he has some untapped potential as a base stealer after notching only three steals in five attempts across 251 big-league plate appearances to date.

Ramirez is in the lineup for Monday's game against the Giants.

Ramirez was pulled from Saturday's game against the Cubs with a right ankle contusion. The issue didn't appear to be serious and Ramirez is back in the lineup after missing just one day.

Valencia is unavailable for Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins due to minor calf soreness, Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline.com reports.

Valencia is battling for a bench role with the Orioles this spring. He hit .256/.314/.411 in 130 games for the Mariners last season and is 6-for-29 with two homers so far in Grapefruit League play. His injury appears to be minor and shouldn't impact his chances of making the Opening Day roster, though the exact details remain unclear.