MLB Player News
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Xander Bogaerts SS | SD
Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts: First spring homer
Bogaerts cracked a homer in Thursday's game against the Mets. He went 2-for-3 with the homer and two RBI.
Bogaerts had a nice breakout season in 2015, but with just seven homers, the power has been the last thing to develop. It's not a knock on his game, but after hitting 12 homers in 2014, we were expecting more. The Red Sox are preaching patience with the 22-year-old shortstop, who improved his batting average 80 points between 2014 and 2015 at the expense of the long ball. At some point, we hope to see both elements of offense -- a .300 hitter with 15-20 homer potential at a premium position.
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Tim Anderson 2B | LAA
White Sox's Tim Anderson: Reassigned to minor league camp Thursday
The White Sox reassigned Anderson to minor league camp Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports.
This shan't be the last we hear from Anderson this season. Although he should start the year in the high-minors, he should press for the team's starting shortstop gig early in the summer (assuming the Jimmy Rollins/Tyler Saladino combo does not impress).
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Pedro Ciriaco SS | DET
Rangers' Pedro Ciriaco: Job battle heats up with strong spring
Ciriaco has played his way into the utility infielder competition with a 1.036 OPS through 42 at-bats.
Ciriaco is competing with Hanser Alberto, with Alberto having an advantage of a spot on the 40-man roster, but Texas may ultimately elect to have Alberto play every day at Triple-A Round Rock and have the veteran Ciriaco remain in the majors. Neither player is expected to have a large role once the season begins.
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Jonathan Diaz SS | NYY
Yankees' Jonathan Diaz: Reassigned to minor league camp
Diaz was reassigned to minor league camp Saturday.
His opportunities were limited this spring, and Diaz will likely spend most of the season as depth at Triple-A again this year barring injury to several middle infielders ahead of him on the organizational depth chart. Diaz has hit .232/.346/.302 in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level.
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Luis Sardinas SS | WAS
Mariners' Luis Sardinas: Healthy after battling calf injury
Sardinas is hitting .406 with four doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI, and two walks in 32 at-bats this spring.
Calf tightness cost him one game last week, but he's now rattled off six straight starts, knocking three extra-base hits over that stretch. A trade acquisition from Milwaukee in the offseason, Sardinas appears in line to open 2016 as the top backup at both middle-infield positions.
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Xander Bogaerts SS | SD
Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts: Cleanup experiment shelved for now
Red Sox manager John Farrell said Bogaerts will go back to third in the batting order for the time being, the Boston Herald reports.
Farrell experimented with Bogaerts batting cleanup for a stretch of games this week, but switched him back to the three-hole Friday. "Chance to get Bogey back in the 3-hole, where maybe he's more comfortable because of the number of at-bats in that spot last year," Farrell said. "We took an opportunity to take a look at (Bogaerts in the 4-hole), but for the time being, he'll be back in the 3-hole."
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Adalberto Mondesi SS | BOS
Royals' Raul Mondesi: Likely set for minors despite strong spring
Mondesi started at shortstop and went 1-for-2 in a split squad spring game Friday. He's hitting .360 (9-for-25) this spring.
Mondesi will begin the season in the minors as there's been little talk of him staying with the big league team. He'll likely begin the season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and could advance rapidly.
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Xander Bogaerts SS | SD
Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts: Batting cleanup in spring games
Bogaerts found himself batting cleanup Wednesday for the fourth time this week, CSN New England reports.
Manager John Farrell is toying with the lineup and hinted that it might be something he employs during the regular season. The manager's motivation is two-fold: he'd like to move David Ortiz up to third in order to ensure a first-inning at-bat; and he wants to break up the run of righties at the top of the order with Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Bogaerts. The shortstop doesn't carry the power of a traditional cleanup hitter, but he's developed into a good hitter that can protect Ortiz and possibly get himself a few more RBI opportunities.
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Carlos Correa SS | HOU
Astros' Carlos Correa: Hits first homer of the spring
Correa hit his first home run of the spring Monday against the Nationals.
Correa's solo shot off Nationals starter Joe Ross accounted for the Astros' only run of the game. The 21-year-old is 9-for-19 (.474) through seven Grapefruit League games and is primed for a big season hitting out of the three-hole in Houston's lineup.
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Joey Wendle 2B | ATL
Athletics' Joe Wendle: Rejoins Triple-A Nashville
Wendle was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Monday.
With numerous options at second base for Oakland, Wendle's odds of making the Opening Day roster weren't spectacular. That being said, the 25-year-old's career remains on an upward trajectory as he'll begin a second straight season in Nashville while awaiting his MLB debut.