MLB Player News

Giants general manager Brian Sabean said the club needs "a bust-out season from" first baseman Brandon Belt, according to the San Jose Mercury News. 

The 26-year-old came into 2014 poised to have a big season, but injuries got in the way. Belt was limited to just 61 games last season due to a thumb injury and complications with a concussion. He hit .243/.306/.449 over 214 at-bats.

Belt is expected to hit in the middle of the order this season, and that should lead to higher expectations. For what it's worth, Sabean thinks Belt can handle it. "He's capable of it, and he might be poised to do it," he said.

The Cubs will be cautious with outfielder Jorge Soler during camp, according to MLB.com.

Soler has dealt with injuries throughout his minor-league career, and the club wants to make sure he's 100 percent healthy heading into the season. The team is mainly concerned about Soler's legs, and will make sure he doesn't overwork himself.

The 22-year-old Soler hit .292/.330/.573 over 89 at-bats in the majors last year. 

Phillies infielder Darin Ruf dealt with multiple injuries in 2014 and struggled during winter ball, but he's ready to put his disappointing season behind him and focus on continuing his transition to the outfield, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

"I feel healthy," Ruf said Friday. "I did some things this offseason to increase mobility and take some of the muscular injuries out of the game."

Ruf checked in early for spring camp, citing his continued transition to the outfield as the main reason for his early arrival.

"Having two to three years experience out there, it's nothing new to me," Ruf said. "I know the drills, I know what to do. I know what to expect out there. I know what balls I can and can't get to. It makes me a lot more comfortable."

Ruf hit .235/.310/.402 with three home runs in 102 at-bats over 52 games in 2014.

Marlins manager Mike Redmond said Wednesday some of his spring lineups will feature Christian Yelich batting third and Giancarlo Stanton batting fourth, per the Sun-Sentinel.

"If I give you the lineup what are we going to talk about for the next six weeks?" Redmond quipped. "I want to mess around with some lineups in spring training, maybe hit Yellie a few times in a three-hole, hit Stanton a few times in the four-hole. I don't know how often all those guys will play together, but see where it works and how comfortable Yellie is in that two-hole.

"We know what [Martin] Prado can do. It's nice to have the flexibility. It will be fun to tinker and be able to mix and match and see where the best fit is."

Although Yelich proved to be a very productive leadoff batter in 2014, Redmond views the 23-year-old outfielder as a potential No. 3 hitter.

"I foresee this guy being a three-hole type hitter, run producer," Redmond said. "Will that be this year or next year? I don't know. That's probably up to him and how he does. There is always a little bit of caution giving him too much too quick, but I know he's a guy that can handle it, where ever we put him in the lineup."

Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been pressing third baseman Matt Carpenter to be more aggressive at the plate at informal workouts before the official start of camp, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

"It’s great to walk and have long at-bats but he’s got the potential to hit 50 doubles. We’ve seen it," Holliday said. "He’s got the potential to hit 15 to 20 homers. We saw that in the postseason. It’s fine that first at-bat of the game if you want to take some pitches. But I’d like to see him be a little bit more aggressive. It’s in there. He showed it. It’s in there for all of us."

Carpenter, slugged three home runs during last year's National League Division Series after adopting a more aggressive approach, hit .272/.375/.375 with eight home runs and 59 RBI in 595 at-bats in 2014. The infielder also led the league in base on balls by drawing 95 walks.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy outlined the plans he has for the batting order in 2015, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

He expects Angel Pagan to hit leadoff. He will be followed by Joe Panik, Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, Casey McGehee, Norichika Aoki and Brandon Crawford. The pitcher will hit ninth.

It's "pretty clear" the Dodgers would like outfield prospect Joc Pederson to win the everyday center fielder job in 2015, the Los Angeles Times reports, adding that the backup plan if Pederson falters could be rolling with Yasiel Puig in center.

"I don’t expect anything to be handed to me," Pederson said last weekend during the team's fan fest. "It never has been in the past. I still have to grow as a baseball player."

Carl Crawford is expected to be locked in at left field regardless of the performance of Pederson, who would start in center with Puig in right if the prospect wins a spot on the 25-man roster in spring training. If the team decides Pederson needs more minor-league seasoning, Puig could be shifted to center field, with Andre Ethier moving into the starting lineup and playing right field.

To ensure his face his protected during spring training, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will wear a protective face guard on his helmet, reports MLB.com.

Stanton's 2014 season ended after he took a fastball directly to the face by Milwaukee pitcher Mike Fiers on Sept. 11. He suffered multiple facial fractures and needed dental work.

Stanton has been able to workout in the offseason and plans to be ready for spring training. Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said they have no worries on how Stanton will react to the protective gear.

"There's no concerns on our part," Hill said. "We've worked closely with Giancarlo and the helmet manufacturer. He will wear a half-cage to protect the injured area. He's worked out with it."

The Marlins will begin player workouts Feb. 24.

The Giants were able to avoid arbitration with first baseman Brandon Belt after they agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million contract, reports CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

Belt originally filed for $4.5 million in arbitration, while the Giants countered with $3 million. In 2014, Belt hit .243 with 12 home runs and 27 RBI.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter hit just eight home runs with a .375 slugging percentage during the 2014 regular season, but had a much better power swing in the postseason, belting four home runs and slugging .722 in nine games.

“I took a more of an aggressive approach in the postseason,” Carpenter said, per STLBaseballWeekly.com. “Part of that was from the experience that I had gathered the year before. After a long season, going into the playoffs I felt like I wasn’t as prepared as I felt like I could’ve been. It kind of snowballed and my approach and the way I took the regular season at-bat in the postseason it wasn’t playing out well.”

Carpenter said his postseason success could have a positive impact on his power numbers in 2015.

"Certainly, I’m always going to be a guy who’s patient at the plate, but that was a good learning experience for me -- being aggressive," he said. "I don’t remember the exact numbers but out of the four home runs I hit, I think three of them were on the first pitch. That’s something typically I don’t do a lot of, and it was a good learning experience.”