MLB Player News

Morel will serve as the Cubs' designated hitter and cleanup batter in Thursday's season opener versus the Rangers.

The Cubs gave Morel plenty of run at third base this spring in hopes that he would capture that job. While he still figures to be used plenty at the hot corner, it displays some lack of trust in Morel's defense on manager Craig Counsell's part that he's not playing the field Opening Day. Fantasy managers mostly care that he's just in the lineup, of course, and that he's hitting cleanup shows faith in his bat.

Pederson is out of the lineup Thursday's game against the Rockies.

Southpaw Kyle Freeland will start Thursday's game on the mound for Colorado, sending the lefty-hitting Pederson into the dugout. Blaze Alexander will serve as the Arizona's designated hitter, making his MLB debut while Pederson sits.

The Blue Jays selected Vogelbach's contract from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.

Vogelbach managed to squeeze onto the roster even as the Jays have Justin Turner at designated hitter and Vladimir Guerrero at first base. His best chance at playing time would be if Turner winds up being used at third base more than expected, but realistically Vogelbach is looking at a bench role.

Ohtani (elbow) played catch Monday for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last September, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani was spotted throwing in the outfield following a scheduled press conference Monday afternoon to address the formal investigation into the matter involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, where Ohtani denied knowledge of Mizuhara using his money to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker and voiced his full cooperation with the investigation, per Sportsnet LA. "I never bet on baseball or any other sports, or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf," said Ohtani. "And I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports. Up until a couple days ago, I didn't know this was happening." As for Ohtani's rehab from elbow surgery, the team previously indicated that he'd begin a throwing program upon returning to Los Angeles, and if all goes well, he could have an outside shot to play in the outfield or at first base later in the season.

The Yankees reassigned Torrens to minor-league camp Monday.

Torrens had a solid spring, but he was always destined for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the season as long as the Yankees' catching corps was healthy. The 27-year-old has posted a .643 OPS over parts of six major-league seasons.

The Cubs optioned Canario to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Canario made a push for an Opening Day roster spot but ultimately came up short. The 23-year-old missed much of the 2023 season while recovering from multiple surgeries but did get a cup of coffee with the big club in September. He could be used at all three outfield spots at Iowa.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider announced Sunday that Vogelbach will be added to the major-league roster, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The 31-year-old joined Toronto as a non-roster invitee in February and earned a roster spot by posting an .895 OPS during spring training. The Blue Jays have Vladimir Guerrero and Justin Turner locked in at first base and designated hitter, respectively, so Vogelbach will mainly serve as a power source off the bench.

The Mets optioned Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Vientos looked as though he might begin the season as the Mets' top designated hitter in the short term while the newly signed J.D. Martinez completed his ramp-up program, but Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may prefer to take a committee approach to the DH spot until Martinez is ready to go. As a result, Vientos won't join the Mets for Opening Day, while the team instead reserves its final backup spot for infielder Zack Short, who offers more defensive versatility than Vientos. The 24-year-old Vientos should still be at the top of the list for a call-up if the Mets lose starting corner infielders Pete Alonso or Brett Baty or Martinez to an injury at any point in 2024.

The Nationals selected Winker to the major-league roster Sunday.

The 30-year-old joined the Nationals as a non-roster invitee in February and earned a place on the Opening Day roster with a .932 OPS in 15 Grapefruit League games. Winker posted a .567 OPS with Milwaukee last season but was limited to 61 games while returning from neck and knee surgeries, and he'll likely need to be more productive in 2024 in order to stick around in Washington.

Harper (back) is starting at first base in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Harper was able to take seven at-bats on a back field Friday, one of which resulted in him legging out an infield single. The 31-year-old slugger figures to be ready to go for Opening Day, but he has gone just 5-for-22 with three runs scored this spring.