MLB Player News

Carpenter and Nelson Cruz will likely share DH duties this season, Jeff Snider of SI.com reports.

Carpenter and Cruz are both newcomers to the Padres this season, and they form a natural platoon pair with the former being a left-handed batter and the latter batting from the right side of the plate. Carpenter has also been playing first base this spring, per Jack Magruder of MLB.com, so he figures to get additional at-bats by occasionally starting at that position. San Diego will be hoping that the veteran can recapture some of the magic that led Carpenter to a huge bounce-back campaign with the Yankees last season, when he slashed .305/.412/.727 with 15 homers and 37 RBI over just 154 plate appearances.

Rooker is hitting .391 (9-for-23) with five doubles, two RBI, eight walks, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and six runs across 11 Cactus League games.

The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers in November after being designated for assignment by Kansas City, and he's now making a strong case for an Opening Day roster spot as a reserve outfielder. Rooker boasts a 1.172 OPS in Cactus League play and impressively laced a pair of two-baggers off the White Sox's Dylan Cease and reliever Joe Kelly on Tuesday, the latest installment in a spring that Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports has been an extension of a very strong minor-league body of work in both the Padres and Royals organizations in 2022. "Rook's having a good spring," manager Mark Kotsay said. "These at-bats today were great. He hits the ball hard. He's done a nice job of taking some great at-bats. He's taking advantage of this opportunity right now."

Cespedes has left Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic for personal reasons, the Associated Press reports.

The former MLB slugger did not play in the last two games of the first round of the tournament, and went hitless in the two games he did play in. The 37-year-old could rejoin the team for the quarterfinal in Miami, but few specifics have been released as to why he's left the club or when he'll rejoin.

Encarnacion-Strand was reassigned Tuesday to the minor-league side of Reds camp.

Encarnacion-Strand has flashed tremendous power this spring with four home runs and 13 RBI across 27 plate appearances in the Cactus League. And he put up 32 homers and 114 RBI in 122 minor-league games last summer. Acquired from the Twins in August 2022 as part of the Tyler Mahle trade, the 23-year-old corner infielder could eventually emerge as a thundering offensive threat at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Cabrera's participation for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic will be limited by the Tigers, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Rivera notes that the specific limitations are yet to be determined but could involve Cabrera being limited to just one plate appearance per game. Cabrera is 1-for-9 at the plate so far during WBC play.

Vientos could open the season on the 26-man roster if Darin Ruf gets placed on the injured list due to his sore wrist, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Ruf has done little in a Mets uniform since being picked up from the Giants last season, and his sore wrist has limited him to only 13 plate appearances so far this spring, in which he's managed two hits and struck out five times. Vientos, meanwhile, has gone 11-for-36 (.308) with three doubles and two homers, although his 1:14 BB:K is a giant red flag that he isn't going to maintain that kind of batting average for very long. The 23-year-old would also offer more defensive versatility in a bench role than Ruf. The veteran slugger still has some time left this spring to prove his wrist is 100 percent and re-establish himself as a right-handed platoon option, but if the Mets decide to shut him down, Vientos appears to be the most likely candidate to benefit.

Ruf's ongoing wrist issues and struggles at the plate this spring could lead to him beginning the season on the injured list, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

The veteran slugger was expected to fill a role as a right-handed platoon option at DH and bench bat, but he's gone 2-for-11 this spring with five strikeouts when he's been healthy enough to play at all. Giving the Mets extra incentive to place him on IL has been the performance of some prospects in camp, notably Mark Vientos, who is slashing .306/.324/.556 with two homers and three doubles in 37 plate appearances this spring, albeit with a 1:14 BB:K. Vientos would also offer a little more defensive versatility off the bench than Ruf if he winds up on the Opening Day roster.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said Monday that Ohtani's final appearance as a pitcher in the WBC would come in the quarterfinals, but Ohtani subsequently indicated that such a decision hasn't yet been made, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The report comes by way of Japanese journalist Naoyuki Yanagihara of Sports Nippon Newspapers. Ohtani is expected to pitch for Japan against Italy in a quarterfinal matchup early Thursday morning, and if that is indeed his final outing on the mound in the WBC, it would prevent him from throwing in a potential championship game in Miami on Tuesday, March 21. From a scheduling standpoint, Nevin's direction makes sense, as Ohtani typically pitches on five days of rest, and there would be four days between Japan's quarterfinal contest and the championship game (if the team makes it that far). Given Ohtani's response to word of Nevin's comments, however, it may not be set in stone that the star hurler would be kept off the mound in a potential title game.

Horwitz was optioned to minor-league camp Monday, KKeegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Horwitz is currently playing for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic and will report to the backfields of Dunedin when the tournament concludes. The 24-year-old infielder/outfielder registered an .843 OPS with 12 homers over 114 games between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo during the 2022 season.

Turner (face) said Monday he could return to Grapefruit League games later this week, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Turner managed to avoid serious injury when he was hit in the face by a pitch a week ago and was cleared to resume baseball activities over the weekend after having his stitches removed. At this point, it appears Turner should be fine for Opening Day.