MLB Player News

Brantley (shoulder) rejoined the Astros at spring training Monday, but manager Dusty Baker said it "will be close" whether the veteran outfielder is ready to go for Opening Day, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley's status for Opening Day was already in question while he continues to recover from the surgery he underwent last August to repair the labrum in his right shoulder, and it didn't help his cause that his rehab program was essentially put on hold when he stepped away from the team just under two weeks ago to tend to a family matter. Now that he's back at camp, Brantley is expected to steadily increase his baseball activities, but he still may have an uphill battle to get fully ramped up by the time Houston opens its season March 30 versus the White Sox. When Brantley is healthy, Baker said that the 35-year-old is expected to serve as the Astros' No. 2 hitter while likely sharing time at designated hitter and in left field with Yordan Alvarez (hand).

Lewis went 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBI in Sunday's spring game against the Rockies.

Lewis got a late start to Cactus League action due to leg issues, but he's hit in three straight and has three extra-base hits (two homers) during that stretch. He's in the mix for a bench spot along with Pavin Smith and Emmanuel Rivera.

Meneses went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in Sunday's 11-5 win for Team Mexico over Team USA.

After staking Mexico to an early 2-0 lead with a blast off Nick Martinez in the first inning, Meneses put the game out of reach with a three-run shot in the fourth off Brady Singer. Both homers came off his bat with exit velocities above 102 mph, per Jesse Borek of MLB.com. Meneses didn't do much at the plate during Grapefruit League play before the WBC began, going 4-for-20 with zero extra-base hits, but Sunday's performance is a reminder that the power he displayed at the end of the 2022 season is very real. The 30-year-old is set to fill an everyday role in the majors this year for the first time in his career, seeing most of his action at DH for the Nationals while also spotting in at first base and potentially in the outfield corners once again.

Blackmon's back stiffness is improving, but he won't be rushed back into the lineup, MLB.com reports.

Blackmon left Colorado's spring training game March 10 after just one inning due to a back injury. Manager Bud Black didn't give a specific timeline for a return, though given Blackmon's veteran status it's no surprise the team isn't rushing for him to return during the exhibition schedule. To this point, there is no indication he's in danger of missing any regular-season contests.

Turner (face) played catch and took swings off a tee Sunday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Sunday's work represents the first baseball activity Turner has participated in since getting hit in the face by a pitch last Monday. Surprisingly, he didn't sustain any fractures or lose any teeth. Turner was given the go-ahead to resume activities after having 16 stitches removed Saturday. "Hopefully just kind of keep ramping it up as long as there's no setbacks and hopefully be back out there as soon as possible," Turner said. He believes he can be ready for Opening Day.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora suggested Sunday that Turner (face) could return to baseball activities as soon as Monday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

"[Turner is] gonna do a lot of stuff inside today in the training room and in the gym," Cora said. The infielder has made a fast recovery after a scary moment in which he was hit in the face Monday and required 16 stitches and a hospitalization. There's no guarantee that Turner will be ready for Opening Day at this point, though the 38-year-old indicated Sunday he expects to be good to go by that point, per Ian Browne of MLB.com.

Alvarez (hand) was able to hit soft toss in the batting cage Sunday and felt good, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez has taken swings in the cage two of the last three days, and both times the slugger has felt fine after the session. He's recovering from soreness in his left hand, and while the team has framed his absence from Grapefruit League precautionary, it's late enough in the spring season to grow concerned that he may not be ready to play on Opening Day. Astros manager Dusty Baker said Saturday that it's "still the plan" for Alvarez to be ready for the start of the season, however, and it's encouraging that he's feeling better swinging the bat at this stage.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hasn't ruled out Martinez playing some outfield this season, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Martinez played primarily in the outfield for the first seven seasons of his career before transitioning to designated hitter in 2018. Last season with the Red Sox, he played all 139 of his games as the DH, and he hasn't played the outfield in a regular-season contest since Oct. 3, 2021. However, the veteran started in left field in Saturday's Cactus League contest against the Cubs and made a nice running catch on the first play of the game. Though Roberts' comments suggest Martinez could occasionally play defense this season, it's uncertain if he'd do so often enough to gain outfield eligibility in fantasy leagues. One reason the team may want to put Martinez in the field from time to time is that doing so could help get catcher Will Smith's bat in the lineup on days when he needs a break behind the plate.

Solak was reassigned to minor-league spring training Saturday.

Solak was acquired for cash considerations in November, but any hopes of him duplicating Brandon Drury's success from last season seems to have gone out the window with this move. Solak's career .252/.327/.372 slash line isn't good but is far from terrible, so if he does get a run of games for the Reds at some point, he could have fantasy value in at least deeper leagues. The fact that the Reds -- who don't exactly possess a roster packed with proven talent -- took him out of Opening Day consideration with nearly three weeks to go suggests his stock is quite low right now.

Manager Dusty Baker said Saturday that it's "still the plan" for Alvarez (hand) to be ready for Opening Day, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

He took swings in the batting cage Friday and the skipper's comments suggest Alvarez emerged from that session just fine. While more hand issues are concerning after he dealt with similar injuries last season, his time away from baseball activities seems precautionary in large part -- at least that's the way the team is framing it.