MLB Player News

Soler's playing time in 2016 will likely take a hit with the Cubs' decision to re-sign Dexter Fowler on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

With Fowler in center and Jason Heyward in right, Soler may platoon with Kyle Schwarber in left, seeing his start there against left-handed pitching, or against righties when manager Joe Maddon deploys Schwarber behind the plate in place of Miguel Montero. A trade out of Chicago or an injury to one of the regulars in front of him appear to be Soler's only paths to everyday playing time this season.

Belt will not play much - if any - left field during spring training, CSN Bay Area reports.

The fact that the Giants aren't having Belt work on his outfield defense during spring training indicates they no longer view him as a viable backup option. While he is the club's starting first baseman, he logged 13 starts in left field last season with Buster Posey sliding over to first, usually against lefties. The signing of veteran outfielder Denard Span and the emergence of Jarrett Parker are presumably the reasons the club feels comfortable keeping Belt at his natural position. This news - if it sticks for the regular season - is a positive for San Francisco's defense, but a negative for any Belt owners in fantasy, as he will likely see 10-15 less games started this year.

Turner (knee) will be a full participant in the team's workouts, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday, SB Nation's Eric Stephen reports.

While Roberts said Turner would be a full participant, he noted that the intensity might be tempered a bit as the Dodgers' third baseman works his way back from a offseason microfracture procedure. As spring training gets underway it should become clearer what limitations Turner faces initially, if any, but so far all of the news out of camp has been positive and he remains on track to be ready for Opening Day.

Winker is under consideration for the Reds' left field job this spring, though he's not the favorite. "I would not say he can't make the team," manager Bryan Price said Friday. "We know right now that we've got some guys competing for left field. I would say Adam Duvall, Scott Schebler and Yorman [Rodriguez] are probably -- I hate to say the favorites -- but they're guys we're looking at. They've done what they needed to do at the Triple-A level."

It's still very unlikely that Winker will win the job, even with a monster spring, because he's not on the 40-man roster yet and hasn't played at all in Triple-A. Given the Reds' presumed status as a non-contender this year, there's little reason to rush Winker's progression until he's absolutely beating the door down in front of him.

A season after getting a late start due to a knee ailment, McCutchen is already working out at the Pirates' spring training complex. "I'm ready to go, as opposed to last year," McCutchen told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. That's why I've been here working out."

"Baseball's back, and I'm looking forward to it," McCutchen said. "My knee's great, my body's great. I won't have to worry about that at all. I'm motivated in the sense that I didn't do ... physically, I wasn't where I needed to be at the beginning of the season." The Pittsburgh center fielder looks to improve upon his recent early-season performance. He's struggled in April, posting a .246/.343/.428 split from 2013 to 2015.

Belt and the Giants agreed to a one-year, $6.2 million contract, avoiding arbitration, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The deal goes just a bit in favor of the Giants, as it falls a bit short of the $6.4 million midpoint. The 27-year-old bounced back nicely last season with a .280 batting average, an .834 OPS, and 18 home runs. Now that his contract situation is out of the way, Belt can return to being a solid fantasy option at first base, assuming he can replicate his 2015 numbers.

Winker will probably begin the 2016 season at Triple-A Louisville, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

This is the obvious strategy for the Reds - Winker spent all of 2015 at Double-A Pensacola, coming on strong after initially struggling. He's not yet on the 40-man roster, and the team won't contend, so there's no rush to start his options clock.

Turner (knee) has not dealt with any setbacks in his recovery from a microfracture procedure in November, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Turner reportedly had a portion of the cartilage torn off the outside of his knee in the postseason, requiring him to undergo the surgery shortly after the season. Assuming the rest of his rehab process goes as planned, the 31-year-old third baseman should be ready for the beginning of spring training.

Blackmon and the Rockies agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract Monday, avoiding arbitration, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

Blackmon got a nice deal to avoid arbitration, as the midpoint between the Rockies and him was $3.3 million. He'll likely slate in as the Rockies' centerfielder again in 2016 after posting a .797 OPS with 17 home runs and 43 stolen bases last season.

Cespedes agreed to a three-year contract with the Mets on Friday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

Cespedes' deal includes an opt out after just one year, but he will spend at least another season with the team he spurred to a World Series berth in 2015. It remains to be seen exactly where he will hit in the order, but he knocked in runs in bunches for the Mets last season with 44 RBI in 57 games. He will be the team's every day left fielder in 2016.