MLB Player News

Belt (heel/illness) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Wednesday against the Padres as a pinch hitter, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The 32-year-old has been playing catch-up throughout camp after undergoing heel surgery in October and then coming down with COVID-19 in January and mononucleosis in February, but he's set to make his spring debut Wednesday. There's only eight days before Opening Day, so Belt is running out of time to play the field in a spring game before the start of the season. A short trip to the injured list to open the campaign wouldn't be surprising, though the Giants have yet to indicate whether he's expected to be ready for the season opener.

Carpenter is hitting .033 (1-for-30) with one RBI, seven walks, 13 strikeouts and a run over 14 Grapefruit League games.

Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Carpenter isn't in danger of missing out on the Opening Day roster despite his abysmal spring performance, especially considering he's due $18.5 million this coming season and the fact he isn't taking up a starting spot. Hummel also notes Carpenter's left-handed bat and defensive versatility are two other factors in his favor for the time being, but he adds it would naturally behoove the veteran to get off to a productive start after the type of spring he's had and in light of his pedestrian .216/.332/.372 line over the last two seasons.

Belt (heel) will run the bases Sunday and could get into game action by the end of next week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Belt underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right heel in October and then saw his recovery delayed first by COVID-19 in January and then by mononucleosis in February. He hasn't been officially ruled out for Opening Day, but the projected timeline would have him getting into game action with potentially less than a week until the regular season begins. A short stay on the injured list wouldn't be a surprise and could open up starts for Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf or Austin Slater.

Ozuna has gone 4-for-19 (.211) through 10 Grapefruit League games with a double, a home run and a 4:9 BB:K.

The strikeouts aren't ideal, but so far this spring Ozuna has been focused on getting in his reps and getting his timing down at the plate. The 30-year-old will hit in the heart of a potent Atlanta offense this season, and while he almost certainly won't match the 1.067 OPS he racked up in 2020, Ozuna could take a run at his second career 30-HR, 100-RBI campaign.

Blackmon went 0-for-1 with a run and one walk in Monday's spring loss to the Dodgers.

Blackmon led off the bottom of the second inning Monday with a walk before he was brought in by a Sam Hilliard double to score the first run of the game. The 34-year-old has gone just 2-for-18 with two runs, two walks and three strikeouts over eight spring games this year, but he'll serve as the Rockies' primary right fielder in 2021.

The Diamondbacks reassigned Beer to their minor-league camp Tuesday.

MLB's decision not to implement a universal designated hitter for the 2021 season likely ended any chance Beer had of cracking the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster, since the 24-year-old doesn't profile as an ideal bench option due to his lack of defensive versatility. Beer is still one of the top hitters in Arizona's farm system, though his initial results upon coming over from Houston in a July 2019 trade weren't all that encouraging. Over his 24 games with Double-A Jacksonville in 2019, Beer slashed .205/.297/.318 (83 wRC+) across 101 plate appearances.

Miller's oblique injury is a relatively mild strain which won't necessarily rule him out for Opening Day, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Miller suffered the injury Saturday. He'll be reevaluated later in the week, at which point his timeline should become more clear. He's expected to be one of the Phillies' top bench players this season. If he's forced to miss the start of the campaign, that could be good news for one of the team's lesser utility options such as C.J. Chatham, Ronald Torreyes or Nick Maton.

Belt (heel) is playing first base in a simulated game Sunday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

It's been slow going in camp for the 32-year-old after dealing with COVID-19 in January and mononucleosis in February, but he appears to be nearing his Cactus League debut for the Giants. Belt still has a couple weeks to prepare for Opening Day, but his conditioning may not be up to par after recovering from a pair of long-term ailments. He had a .309/.425/.591 slash line with nine home runs, 13 doubles, 30 RBI and 30 walks in 51 games during 2020.

Miller could require an MRI after he was unable to play in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers due to a right oblique injury, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Miller said Sunday that the injury was something that had been bothering him throughout the spring, but it wasn't until Saturday that the pain was significant enough for him to ask out of the lineup. The Phillies plan to give him a few days of rest with the hope that's enough to resolve the issue, but if not, Miller will likely be sent in for further diagnostic tests. The 31-year-old is competing for a role this spring as a left-handed bat off the Philadelphia bench.

Vogelbach went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI in Saturday's spring game against the Rangers.

Vogelbach got off to a slow start this spring, but he has picked up the pace lately, going 4-for-12 (.333) over his past five games. Hoping he would be able to see regular at-bats as the designated hitter, the Brewers re-signed Vogelbach over the offseason. With the NL not adopting the DH, though, he will be able to work in that role only in AL parks and is on track to serve as the backup first baseman behind Keston Hiura.