MLB Player News

Harper hit his first two home runs of the spring, both off Justin Verlander, in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

Verlander had yet to be scored upon this spring before Harper got to work, and his second shot (a blast over the batter's eye wall in straightaway center field) was one of the longest home runs ever hit at Joker Marchant Stadium and drew admiration from Tigers legends like Al Kaline and Willie Horton. Harper appears to be in midseason form already, and ready to defend his NL MVP award.

Belt was scratched from Saturday's lineup but is not dealing with any kind of ailment, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The team said Belt's OK and the 27-year-old later confirmed that he's healthy, saying there is "absolutely nothing wrong" with him. Belt is fully expected to return to the lineup for Sunday's exhibition. He has walked more times than he has struck out so far in Cactus League play, but Belt is still looking for his first homer of the spring.

Winker was reassigned to minor league camp Friday.

While a hip flexor strain cost Winker several days recently, he was a long shot to make the roster to begin with. The 22-year-old Winker should force his way up this summer, but the Reds appeared to have narrowed down the candidates for the Opening Day left fielder job to Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler.

Harper drew a walk in all three of his plate appearances Thursday, scoring two runs and stealing his second base of the spring.

He hasn't yet flashed his impressive power in Grapefruit League action as he's still looking for his first spring home run, but Harper's willingness to run bodes well for his chances of becoming a contributor in that category again in 2016. The Nationals added Davey Lopes as their new first base coach in the offseason, who has a reputation for being something of a baserunning guru, and the Nats as a team are now 24-for-26 on stolen base attempts this spring. If Harper buys into Lopes' teachings, he could top his previous career high of 18 steals set back in his rookie campaign in 2012.

Soler went 2-for-3 with a double and home run in Thursday's victory over Arizona.

Soler finally pushed his spring batting average over .100 with the effort, as he's struggled all month. He's expected to get a lot of at-bats as the left fielder this year, most likely as the weak side of a platoon with Kyle Schwarber.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is intrigued by the possibility of batting McCutchen second in the lineup. "On the upside, it gets him to the plate 20, 30 more times per season," Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "He hasn't driven in 100 runs in the third spot. Does this alignment help?"

The center fielder, who has hit homers in consecutive games, is in favor of the idea if it means he comes to the plate more frequently with runners on base. "There were a lot of times I went to the plate like, 'Dang, two outs again?'" McCutchen noted. He had more at-bats with two outs and nobody on base more than any other Pirate, coming to the plate 158 times in that situation -- Gregory Polanco (83) ranked a distant second on the team. Perhaps more importantly, McCutchen says he's healthy after battling a knee injury in 2015. "I've got my power back. Got my legs back," he said. "It's just about using them now."

Cespedes left Thursday's exhibition game after being hit by a pitch on the wrist, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports. However, Cespedes told reporters after leaving the game that he was fine.

Cespedes returned to the lineup Thursday after sitting out one game due to hip stiffness only to leave the game early after being hit on the wrist. Given that Cespedes immediately told reporters that his wrist is fine after leaving the game, this won't likely be an injury that holds him out of the lineup for long.

Cespedes (hip) will return to the lineup as a designated hitter for Thursday's spring game, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

Cespedes only missed one day of Grapefruit League action after being removed from Tuesday's game due to stiffness in his hip. He should return to the outfield within the next few days.

Winker (hip) resumed baseball activity Wednesday, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

After suffering a strained hip flexor on Friday, Winker was able to participate in some baseball activities Wednesday. However, Buchanan stopped short of saying that Winker was a full go Wednesday, so the highly-touted prospect may need a few more days before he's back to 100 percent.

Cespedes skipped Tuesday's spring training game with hip stiffness, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Manager Terry Collins was quick to downplay the situation, indicating the injury was nothing concerning. It sounds as though Cespedes will be able to return to to game action without missing much time, but it could be a situation worth monitoring if the stiffness persists.