MLB Player News

Martin started in center field and went 1-for-3 in Monday's spring training loss to the Yankees. He's 2-for-5 in two games this spring.

After Marin worked exclusively with the infielders early in the spring (he primarily played second base last year at Triple-A), it's notable he played his first two spring training games in the outfield. Martin was seen as a dark horse candidate to win the backup center field role entering spring training, but he's likely ticketed for Triple-A again after the Twins acquired Manuel Margot.

Arias (wrist) will bat in the cleanup spot for Sunday's spring training game against the Mariners.

Arias' 2023 season came to an abrupt end after he sustained a fractured right wrist in late September. He finished last season batting .210/.275/.352 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI over 345 plate appearances.

The White Sox envision DeJong as their starting shortstop to begin the 2024 season, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

DeJong signed a deal with the White Sox early in the offseason, though he presents a curious fit for a rebuilding club. Nevertheless, the team is set on him starting the season at shortstop, pairing with Nicky Lopez in the middle infield. DeJong has failed to post a wRC+ of at least 100 since the 2019 season.

Volpe is working on flattening out his swing path, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Volpe had a flyball rate of 37.1 percent in his rookie season, which was down from the rates he regularly posted in the minors. The shortstop feels that a simplified, flatter swing will lead to more consistency after he went through peaks and valleys in 2023. Perhaps the changed approach will lower his home run ceiling, but if it makes him a better all-around hitter, both the Yankees and Volpe's fantasy managers will take it.

Grissom is dealing with a hamstring issue, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

It's not clear when Grissom suffered the injury, but the team considers it to be mild and doesn't expect it to affect the infielder's availability for Opening Day. The expectation is that Grissom will be ready to play in Grapefruit League games around March 1. He is projected to be Boston's everyday second baseman in 2024.

Bichette said Wednesday that he added pilates, swimming and Muay Thai to his offseason training regimen and has been pleased with his physical conditioning in the early stages of spring training, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

Specifically, Bichette said his pilates and Muay Thai workouts were targeted toward his right leg, after he missed 25 games in 2023 with right patellar tendinitis and a right quadricep strain. Bichette is hoping that the more holistic approach to his offseason training will yield better results in 2024, after both he and the Blue Jays offense as a whole fell a bit short of their lofty expectations heading into the past season. Even in what was considered a down year for Bichette, particularly in the running game -- he stole just five bags in eight attempts after nabbing 38 combined steals over the prior two campaigns -- the 25-year-old still finished with a .306 batting average and a .814 OPS, the fourth straight season in which he's cleared .800. Bichette batted primarily out of the two hole in 2023, but it's unclear if he'll remain in that spot or if he'll hit third or fourth, which he did over the Blue Jays' final four games of last season.

Angels manager Ron Washington said Thursday that Neto will bat ninth this season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Neto will have an opportunity to hit his way to a higher spot in the batting order over time, but for now he'll be stuck at the bottom. The 23-year-old shortstop slashed .225/.308/.377 with nine home runs and five stolen bases over 329 plate appearances during his rookie campaign in 2023.

Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said Tuesday that the plan is to play Rosario some at both middle infield positions as well as the corner outfield spots, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Neander also mentioned Rosario's ability to hit left-handed pitching, and there's a good chance much of the 28-year-old's playing time ultimately comes against southpaws. Jose Caballero is still expected to open the season as Tampa Bay's primary shortstop.

Pena overhauled his batting stance during the offseason, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Pena was essentially a league-average hitter in many aspects last season, but he posted just a .118 ISO across 634 plate appearances. To unlock more power in 2024, he reworked his stance to minimize movement while focusing on driving balls to all areas of the field. Manager Joe Espada has noted early in spring training that Pena looks more athletic and comfortable in the box while lifting the ball more. The latter will be a key to his potential jump in home runs, as he has only a 29.5 flyball percentage across 1,192 career plate appearances.

Martin is not moving to a full-time outfield role, manager Rocco Baldelli told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Martin has only worked as an infielder at the start of camp, but the Twins plan to play him in the outfield this spring as well.

Martin didn't make his Triple-A debut until July 3 after missing the first three months of the season while recovering from a UCL sprain in his elbow. He put up a decent, if unspectacular, .791 OPS with six homers and 16 steals over 59 games for Triple-A St. Paul. Martin could be a candidate to be a reserve center field option to begin the season if the Twins don't sign a veteran. However, this news could be seen as Minnesota not looking at him as a viable option in the outfield in the near term, though position flexibility could provide him multiple paths to reach the majors this season. He'll likely begin the season at Triple-A.