MLB Player News

The Cubs have not yet determined whether Madrigal (hamstring) will begin the season on the injured list, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Madrigal has been sidelined for most of this month with a right hamstring strain, but he's doing better and is likely to play in a minor-league game Sunday. It sounds like it's basically a coin flip as to whether he'll require an IL stint to begin the season.

Wisdom (back) will open the season on the injured list, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

It's not clear what the official diagnosis is for Wisdom's back injury, but the club hopes his stay on the IL will be a brief one. Once healthy, Wisdom is projected to see starts against left-handed pitching while shifting between third base, first base and designated hitter.

LeMahieu (foot) played catch on the field Friday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

LeMahieu went through some light running drills Thursday and continues to ease back into baseball activities as he recovers from a bone bruise in his right foot. The hope remains that the 35-year-old will be up to speed by Opening Day.

Baty may open the season in a reduced role after the Mets agreed to a contract with J.D. Martinez on Thursday, which was reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Baty and Mark Vientos were expected to begin the season as the Mets' primary options at third base and designated hitter. but Martinez will now be locked in at the latter spot. Baty should still hold down at least the strong side of a platoon at the hot corner given his left-handed bat, but given both he and Vientos have struggled to establish themselves in the majors thus far, either player could secure the full-time gig with a strong start to the campaign. Baty is also viewed as the superior defensive option, so he could simply retain the starting role with Vientos stuck on the bench or optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to begin the campaign.

The Tigers reassigned Malloy to minor-league camp Thursday.

Malloy will head to Triple-A Toledo for now as he continues a full-time move to the outfield. He has a shot to debut at some point in 2024.

The Tigers optioned Kreidler to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday.

Kreidler was in the race for the final bench spot on Detroit's Opening Day roster and slashed .355/.500/.548 during Grapefruit League play, but he will ultimately miss the cut. Kreidler posted an .809 OPS across 209 Triple-A plate appearances last season, and a similar start in 2024 could earn him a promotion to the big leagues relatively quickly.

Moncada (illness) will start at third base and bat second in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Royals.

Moncada was scratched from the lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Reds, but the day off was apparently all he needed to overcome the illness. The 28-year-old is off to a solid start to the spring with a .343/.377/.457 slash line across 16 Cactus League games. He's expected to remain in the two hole once the regular season gets underway next week.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run and two walks in Thursday's 15-11 win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the Seoul Series.

San Diego built a big 9-2 lead by the middle of the third inning only to see Los Angeles fight back over the following frames. The Padres' lead was 12-11 in the top of the ninth when Machado tagged J.P. Feyereisen with a three-run blast to left field, sealing the outcome for his team. The homer was Machado's lone hit in seven at-bats during the two-game, season-opening set, but he did draw three walks. He served as San Diego's DH in both contests as he continues to work his way back from offseason elbow surgery, though the procedure doesn't seem to have impacted his ability to swing the bat.

Lipscomb has been the most surprising prospect in camp for the Nationals and has a real chance of winning a spot on the Opening Day roster, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

A third-round pick in 2022, Lipscomb climbed up to Double-A Harrisburg last year and slashed .284/.310/.438 with 10 homers and an 18.2 percent strikeout rate over 80 games. The 23-year-old won a minor-league Gold Glove at third base in 2023, but he's played second base and shortstop as well in camp while batting .372 (16-for-43) with a 5:7 BB:K. He's peaking at the right time too, slugging his first homer of the spring Wednesday off Steven Matz while going 3-for-4 with four RBI against the Cardinals. The organization doesn't view him as a future utility player and wants him to play every day, but given that the Nationals have question marks at both second base and third base in Luis Garcia and Nick Senzel, it's not out of the question Lipscomb displaces one of them in the starting lineup to begin the season.

LeMahieu (foot) did some light footwork exercises Thursday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

Kuty noted that LeMahieu was moving around "gingerly" and "definitely didn't push it." Any amount of activity is better than none, of course, after LeMahieu has been hobbling around the Yankees' spring training facility in recent days. The veteran infielder has expressed optimism that he can make it back from his right foot bone bruise in time for Opening Day, but it's definitely not a slam dunk.