MLB Player News

Martinez was scratched from the Red Sox's lineup for Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins due to back tightness, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Martinez can be viewed as day-to-day at this juncture unless the Red Sox indicate otherwise. The slugger is off to a poor start to the spring with a 1-for-16 mark from the plate, but his stellar track record over the past five seasons continues to make him a worthy first-round selection in just about any fantasy format.

Reyes batted fourth in Tuesday's lineup against Oakland, a lineup which Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune calls "a fair representation of what the Padres figure to roll out in the regular season."

The game was called due to rain just a handful of batters into the exhibition, but the lineup had Ian Kinsler leading off, Eric Hosmer in the two hole followed by Manny Machado and Reyes. Wil Myers was batting fifth, in center field. If that sticks into the regular season, it would likely afford both Reyes and Hunter Renfroe regular playing time. Machado, who homered before the game was called, seems happy with his protection in the lineup, saying, "With Franmil behind me, I'm going to get pitches too. In that situation today, you don't want to load the bases to face Franmil. I think our lineup is pretty deep."

Ford was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Yankees on Tuesday.

Ford received an invite to major-league spring training and had his struggles at the plate, going 3-for-21 with six strikeouts. The 26-year-old should return to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he slashed .253/.327/.433 with 15 home runs in 102 games last season.

Stanton is hitting .333 with a home run, two RBI and three walks over his last 15 spring training at-bats.

Stanton went hitless in his first four at-bats of the spring, but he's found his groove since March 1, launching a mammoth home run for his first long ball Friday. He's now sporting an excellent .417 on-base percentage in Grapefruit League play. For Stanton, the objective will be parlaying that into a stronger start to the regular season than he had last year, when he limped out of the gate to the tune of a .230/.313/.425 slash line in March and April.

Ozuna, who started in left field for the first time this spring in a 3-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Nationals on Monday, reported no pain in his surgically repaired right shoulder following the game, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Ozuna didn't get too many chances out in the field, but he did show some encouraging zip on a throw to second after Trea Turner laced a ball his way in the first inning. Ozuna was happy with that play in particular, reporting no pain after uncorking the ball and going on to note his right shoulder hasn't felt as strong as it currently does in approximately three seasons. Offseason surgery addressed an impingement that was hampering Ozuna's arm strength, and the slugger is now set to play left field for next two weeks in preparation for the regular season. Additionally, with Monday's 0-for-3 day at the plate leaving him just 1-for-20 this spring, the veteran also plans to put in extra work in the batting cage in order to address his poor timing thus far this spring.

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Monday against the Rays.

McCutchen batted leadoff and belted his first home run in a Phillies uniform in the fourth inning. He's now 7-for-25 at the dish in spring training and remains on track to open the regular season as Philadelphia's starting left fielder.

Lewis was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Lewis had a solid run at the dish in big-league camp, hitting .389 with two home runs, four RBI, a stolen base and six runs scored. The former first-round pick slashed .220/.309/.371 over 37 games with Double-A Arkansas a season ago and could remain with the Travelers to open the 2019 campaign.

Manager Mickey Callaway said that Cespedes (heels) is scheduled to begin a throwing program Monday, Anthony Rieber of Newsday reports.

Cespedes is still recovering from surgeries on both of his heels, which he required in August and October. The Mets don't expect Cespedes to be ready to play until midseason, so his advancement to a throwing program shouldn't be taken as a sign that he's nearing a return to game action. With Cespedes likely set to open the season on the 60-day injured list and Jeff McNeil expected to fill in for Todd Frazier (oblique) at third base to begin the campaign, J.D. Davis and non-roster invitee Carlos Gomez could be the top candidates to draw most of the early starts in left field for the Mets. It's also possible the Mets may shift Brandon Nimmo over to left in order to open up more work in center for defensive standouts Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton.

Ozuna (shoulder) is making his first spring start in the outfield Monday against the Nationals.

He will start in left field and hit cleanup, which will also likely be where he slots in on Opening Day. Ozuna had been limited to designated hitter work thus far as he was returning from offseason shoulder surgery.

Alvarez went 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Alvarez's bat is not in question -- he slugged a combined 21 home runs with a .534 slugging percentage and .904 OPS at Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno in 2018 -- but a spot on Houston's roster is. The 6-foot-5 Alvarez has the frame of a first baseman, but the Astros are exposing him to left field, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "He's a little more athletic and a little bit better in left field than I had anticipated, just because there's so much attention and talk about his bat," manager AJ Hinch said of Alvarez. If the 21-year-old can handle the added responsibility of another position, Alvarez improves the chances of bringing his impressive bat to the majors.