Alvarez will hit out of the third spot in the batting order to begin the 2025 regular season, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Alvarez is no stranger to batting third in the order, having held down the No. 3 spot a total of 93 times a season ago (70 times against right-hander pitchers). This will allow Houston to slide Isaac Paredes into the second spot with the hope that he can get on base for Alvarez to drive in more runs. The slugger had a slightly down year in 2024 by his standards, finishing with 86 RBI after two straight seasons of driving in 97 runs.

The Rays reassigned Jimenez to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

The transaction was fully expected after manager Kevin Cash said Friday that the 28-year-old outfielder/designated hitter wouldn't be included on the Opening Day roster. Jimenez is slated to open the season at Triple-A Durham, but he'll have the ability to opt out of his contract on May 1 and June 1 if a promotion to the big leagues isn't imminent or if he wants to explore his options on the open market.

Stanton (elbow/calf) has yet to resume baseball activities, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

While Stanton has been receiving treatment, he hasn't picked up a bat while continuing to work through tennis elbow in both arms and a calf injury. There's been no mention of when the slugger may be able to do any sort of swinging, and his return to game action is seemingly at least multiple months away. Stanton is certain to begin the campaign on the injured list and may ultimately need to undergo season-ending surgery if other treatments don't provide adequate improvement.

Manager John Schneider said Saturday that Heineman has made the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Heineman had the advantage by being the only catcher on the Jays' 40-man roster other than starter Alejandro Kirk, but he's officially beaten out Christian Bethancourt. Despite being a switch hitter, Heineman has never been much of a threat at the plate with a career .212/.298/.273 batting line.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Friday that Jimenez will not make the Opening Day roster, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

Cash noted that while Jimenez's bat "started to come to life" recently during Grapefruit League play, it's not going to be enough to crack the Opening Day roster. Jimenez -- who is on a minor-league contract -- will begin the season at Triple-A Durham and "could be huge for us at any point during the season," per Cash.

Heineman is expected to begin the season as the Blue Jays' No. 2 catcher behind Alejandro Kirk, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

He's the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, so this isn't a big surprise, but NRI signing Christian Bethancourt also hasn't shown enough in camp to push Heineman for the job. The switch-hitting Heineman doesn't offer much offense and has a .212/.298/.273 slash line through 299 plate appearances in the majors, but he could end up seeing the biggest workload of his career in 2025 -- Kirk has never caught more than 99 games in a season.

Alvarez (thumb) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Alvarez had to be scratched from Tuesday's lineup due to right thumb soreness, but it will be just a one-day absence. The slugger has yet to get going this spring, sporting a .493 OPS with one home run.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Yoshida (shoulder) threw out to 90 feet Tuesday but still has "a long way to go" before he's ready to play the corner outfield, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Coming off October surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Yoshida is operating with no restrictions at the plate this spring, as he's made nine starts in Grapefruit League play as a designated hitter while producing a .321 average and .785 OPS over 28 plate appearances. However, because Rafael Devers (shoulders) won't be cleared to play third base before the end of the spring and appears set to open the season as Boston's primary DH, the Red Sox are unlikely to make room on the active roster for Yoshida if he's not an option in the outfield. Yoshida will likely continue to extend his throwing distance over the final week of the spring, but he appears ticketed for a stint on the injured list to begin the season. He'll presumably need to play left field in a few minor-league rehab games before the Red Sox are comfortable activating him.

Alvarez was scratched from Tuesday's Grapefruit League lineup versus the Nationals due to right thumb soreness, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Alvarez banged up the thumb during batting practice Sunday, and while he played in the game that day, he arrived at the park Tuesday with some discomfort. Astros manager Joe Espada expects Alvarez to be ready to play Wednesday against the Mets.

Kjerstad went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against Detroit and is now batting .257 (9-for-35) with one home run, six RBI and one stolen base this spring.

The 2020 first-rounder appears to be on track for a bench role to begin 2025, but Kjerstad's most likely pathway to regular at-bats looks to be blocked at the moment by veteran slugger Ryan O'Hearn at designated hitter. With that said, O'Hearn has gone just 4-for-30 with a lone extra-base hit during spring training, and he could start to feel Kjerstad nipping at his heels for work at some point if his struggles carry into the regular season. Kjerstad could be hard-pressed to find reps in the outfield early on, with Colton Cowser going 12-for-31 with two homers, six RBI and two steals in exhibition action.