MLB Player News

McCutchen is on the USA roster for the World Baseball Classic, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

He will be joined in the outfield by Adam Jones, Christian Yelich, and Giancarlo Stanton. After the Pirates announced he will move to the corner outfield in 2017, it will be interesting to see where manager Jim Leyland plays McCutchen during the WBC.

The Cubs are working with Jimenez to be a bit more patient and use all fields at the plate, CSN Chicago reports.

Jimenez, who had a brilliant 2016 season and is considered the Cubs' top prospect, is just 20 years old and still a few years away from the majors, but the organization considers him advanced for his age. "He is someone who doesn't swing and miss much for (his age)," said Jason McLeod, the Cubs' Senior Vice President of Player Development and Amateur Scouting. "Just tremendous strength to drive balls to the middle of the field, probably makes a little too much contact early in counts. I think that's where we are with him and his development path right now, just understanding what pitchers are trying to do to him. (It's) understanding that he can hit balls 420 feet to right field as well as hitting them 480 to left field."

Brantley (shoulder) is at the "end stages" of his tee work, according to team president Chris Antonetti, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Slowly but surely, Brantley has increased the volume and intensity of his swings off the tee. He seems to be on the verge of taking the next step in his hitting progression, which will presumably be coach-pitch, soft-toss batting practice. The shoulder issues limited Brantley to just 11 games last year and the lost season has driven his cost down considerably, but his price figures to tick up if he looks healthy in spring training.

McCutchen will play right field for the Pirates in 2017.

The Pirates are switching up their outfield alignment, with Starling Marte moving to center field and Gregory Polanco taking over in left. McCutchen had his worst defensive season in 2016 and at 30 years old, he is likely better suited at the corner outfield spot.

After hitting 10 homers with a .333 on-base percentage in 285 plate appearances last season, Dickerson is the favorite to start in left field on Opening Day.

If you extrapolate Dickerson's numbers over the course of a whole season, you could be looking at a poor man's Kole Calhoun (18-20 homers with solid on-base totals) for leagues that use on-base percentage instead of batting average. Dickerson also showed no ill effects from playing half his games at Petco Park. In fact, he was a better hitter at home (.294 and 25.8 PA/HR) than on the road (.229 and 31.2 PA/HR).

Cespedes has been working hard in the offseason to strengthen his lower body and avoid a repeat of the quad injury that limited him in the second half of 2016, The NY Post reports. "I've really been concentrating on my legs so I can work from the ground up,'' Cespedes said earlier this week. "I am the only one who knew how much pain I was in [last season]. I was trying to mask it, trying to play through it and do as much as I could to help the team. After the games I was icing to try to be on the field as much as I could.''

The Mets made a $110 million commitment to Cespedes this offseason, and the 31-year-old has responded in kind by reporting early to the team's spring training complex and fully participating in the regimen that strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis has laid out for him. Cespedes has posted back-to-back campaigns with more than 30 home runs and a batting average of .280 or better, and after bouncing through four organizations in his first four MLB seasons, he's found a home in New York. A career year in 2017 could be in the offing now that his maturity level seems to have caught up to his physical tools.

Miller is expected to be Tampa Bay's starting second baseman in the 2017 season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Logan Forsythe served as the Rays' starting second baseman for the 2016 season. However, he was recently dealt to the Dodgers, so the club will look for Miller to fill the void this coming season. Miller played the bulk of 2016 at shortstop, but also was a regular at first base. He's spent time at second in the past, but in a limited capacity as he played 37 games at the spot, spread across three seasons with Seattle at the start of his career.

Brantley (shoulder) says he is ahead of schedule in his rehab and is hitting off a tee every day, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

This is more positive news for Brantley on the rehab front. He's currently doing two hitting sessions per day and says he feels better than he did at this time last year. The contingent goal is for Brantley to resume normal baseball activities by the end of spring training, but the outfielder cautions he won't rush anything.

Canha (hip) added 10 pounds this offseason and won't be limited in any way this spring, MLB.com's Jane Lee reports.

He underwent hip surgery in May and missed the rest of the season, but his recovery has gone well and he said Friday that he feels great. While Canha is right-handed, he boasts reverse platoon splits, so it is unclear exactly how the A's will use him in 2017 as Yonder Alonso figures to start at first base against righties in a platoon with Ryon Healy.

Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto reiterated Thursday that they will try not to ask too much of Vogelbach as he attempts to solidify himself as Seattle's main starting first baseman this season, ESPN 710 Seattle's Shannon Drayer reports.

After years of being blocked from having a path to the big leagues in Chicago, Vogelbach will now have a legitimate opportunity to establish himself as the Mariners' everyday first baseman. However, most of his at-bats in 2017 will likely come against right-handers since he is expected to platoon with newly-acquired Danny Valencia. Production at the plate will be key for Vogelbach, whose playing time could start to diminish if he gets off to a slow start.