MLB Player News

Brantley (shoulder) will make his spring debut Saturday, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The 28-year-old grounded out in a pair of at-bats on the minor league side Thursday, but the team saw enough to feel comfortable inserting Brantley into the major league lineup. Brantley will be in left field Saturday and it looks like he still has a shot at Opening Day, though he will be cutting it very close with just over two weeks left in spring training.

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.

Buxton returned to baseball activity Friday after dealing with an illness, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Buxton missed a couple of days with an illness, but it was never considered serious, and he made his return to the practice field Friday. Expect Buxton to return to game action within the next handful of days.

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.

Vargas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester.

Vargas was just 2-for-24 in spring training. Vargas began last season as Minnesota's starting DH after hitting .274/.316/.456 with nine home runs in 53 games in his major league debut in 2014. He struggled in his second season with a .642 OPS and just five home runs in 47 games before he was demoted to the minors in July. He then hit 13 home runs with a .910 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A. He still could succeed in the majors as he's just 25 years old, but the singing of Byung-ho Park blocks his path to the majors.

Brantley (shoulder) grounded out in a pair of at-bats in a minor-league game Thursday.

Results aren't important at this point for Brantley as he looks to take the next steps in his rehab as Opening Day approaches. Don't be alarmed if he's given a day off Friday after making his exhibition play debut Thursday.

Scouts believe Reed could benefit from more time in the minors so he can improve against left-handed pitching, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Reed is 8-for-28 (.286) with two doubles, a home run and four RBI through 14 Grapefruit League games. The 22-year-old has lacked plate discipline this spring, as he's only taken one free pass compared to 10 strikeouts, but he walked at an 11.4 percent clip at Double-A last season. He has seen plenty of time at first base (48.2 Grapefruit League innings) and has performed well defensively (zero errors in 42 total chances). While he's done well in camp, Reed hasn't necessarily separated himself from Tyler White (.345) or Jonathan Singleton (.143) in the Astros' first base competition. It's a battle that will likely continue through the end of spring training.

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."

Goins is positioned to see an expanded role at second base to the begin the season with Devon Travis (shoulder) out until at least May.

Even if he's used as the primary option at second base, Goins will hit at or near the bottom of the Toronto lineup. This spring, he's gone 8-for-25 (.320) at the plate while chipping in a stolen base. If Darwin Barney makes the Opening Day roster, Goins could wind up on the large side of a platoon until Travis is healthy enough to return.