MLB Player News

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, who is being prepared for a backup infield role, drew the start at third base for Wednesday's spring game against the Marlins, per ESPN.

Tejada has never started or appeared in a game at third base in his first five years in the majors. He has appeared in 350 games at shortstop and 105 games at second base.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford has been cleared to start and will make his debut in the field Wednesday, reports CSN Bay Area. Crawford is dealing with a sore shoulder, but was able to complete a workout on Friday. He played in Friday's game as a designated hitter.

Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings could make his Cactus League debut as soon as next weekend, the Arizona Republic reports.

Owings is progressing from offseason shoulder surgery and was able to take batting practice Friday. He hit .261/.300/.406 with six home runs, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases in 310 at-bats last season.

Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings was able to take batting practice on Friday, according to MLB.com.

Owings is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, and has been limited early in camp. Manager Chip Hale said he was happy with Owings progress, and noted it was a big day for the infielder.

"Everything he's done has been right on time," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "We've slowed him down, because it's important that that swing is right. This was a huge day for him."

Owings will likely go through another round of BP before he's ready for game action. The team may also opt to give him at-bats in minor-league games before using him during actual spring training games.

The 23-year-old Owings hit .261/.300/.406 over 310 at-bats last season. He's expected to open the year as the team's starting shortstop. 

Giants infielder Brandon Crawford should play the field on Monday or Tuesday, according to CSN.

Crawford is dealing with a sore shoulder, but was able to get through a full workout on Friday. He played during Friday's game, but was used as the designated hitter. Crawford, 28, hit .246/.324/.389 over 491 at-bats last season. 

Diamondbacks infielder Chris Owings is slated to take his first batting practice session of spring training on Friday, according to FOX Sports Arizona. 

Owings is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He's expected to miss the first eight to 10 games of spring training, putting him on pace to play sometime after March 13. 

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford will DH during Wednesday's spring game against the Athletics because of a sore right shoulder. He is not expected to play in the field until next week.

Crawford said this injury is not serious and he had a similar issue last year. He plans to start throwing again Friday.

Manager Bruce Bochy has talked about giving Crawford more time off in 2015, per SFGate.com.

"He mentioned it last year, especially in the second half," Crawford said. "He said he played me a lot in the first half and in the second half he was going to try to find more days for me to get off. He said we're also trying to get to the playoffs and win the division."

Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings is progressing well from offseason shoulder surgery, reports The Arizona Republic.

Owings was expected to miss the first week to 10 games of spring training, but manager Chip Hale said he's ahead of schedule.

"I don't have an exact [return] date," Hale said. "But he's past where I thought he was."

When asked about former Mets teammate Ruben Tejada, Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes shook his head and said "something is wrong," per Newsday.

Reyes revealed that during his final season with the Mets he tried to pass the torch to Tejada to become his replacement. Reyes landed in Miami in the offseason, and Tejada was destined to be his permanent replacement. Now entering spring training, Wilmer Flores is viewed as the favorite to win the starting job at shortstop for the Mets.

"Every time I talk to him I try to give him some advice," Reyes said. "What can I do? I try to push him to do stuff. I don't know if he gets it or not...He had the opportunity to be the everyday shortstop for a long time there in New York. You have to work, man. When you're younger, you think you have everything there for you. But if you do something wrong, it's going to go away. Quick.

"When I was there, I always give a lot of advice to him. We were always together. My last year there, every time I talk to him: 'This is going to be your position for a long time. Don't let it go away.' See what happened now? It's 2015 and he doesn't have a position to play. When they talk about who is going to play every day, they don't talk about Tejada. They talk about Flores."

Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon told reporters Thursday that he won't put a number on how many bases he'll swipe this season, and is more focused on improving his on-base percentage and scoring runs in his first season with his new club, per MLB.com.

"No goal," Gordon said. "I just want to score runs. That's it. I scored a lot of runs last year, and I don't think nobody realizes that. Whatever [stolen bases] I get is what I get. Whatever is going to make me score is what I want to do."

Gordon led MLB last season with 64 stolen bags. His 92 runs were tied with then-teammate Yasiel Puig for eighth most in the National League. He hit .289/.326/.378 over 609 at-bats last season.