DeJong agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the Nationals on Sunday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Jose Tena and Trey Lipscomb were set to compete for the starting role at third base during spring training for the Nationals, but DeJong may now be the favorite for the job. The 31-year-old played in 139 regular-season games with the White Sox and Royals last season and provided his typical low-contact, high-power production with 24 homers, a .227 average and a 32.4 percent strikeout rate.

Shaw (oblique) said Saturday that he's been cleared to begin light hitting, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Shaw suffered an oblique strain Monday, but he seems to be trending in the right direction after four days of rest. It will be important for the 23-year-old prospect to get as many reps as possible during camp while he competes for a starting job at third base.

De La Cruz said Friday that he wants to cut down on strikeouts this season, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

De La Cruz is massively talented, but the 23-year-old shortstop has been prone to mistakes. He led MLB in strikeouts (218) and is working with new hitting coach Chris Valaika to improve in that area. Reds manager Terry Francona envisions De La Cruz improving in other areas, too. The dynamic infielder also led the majors in errors (29), times caught stealing (16) and non-stealing outs on the bases (15). Francona spoke about the growth of young players in general as they get more at-bats. "With young players as they accumulate at-bats, they get to that 1,200, you see them grow," the skipper said, noting how the game slows down for players. "It just makes it easier to make better decisions. That's what we want to do." De La Cruz enters the season with 1,006 career at-bats, which puts him in line to test Francona's theory in 2025.

Lawlar is unlikely to win a bench role during spring training, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Lawlar is nominally in the mix for a backup infielder role in camp, but given the time he missed in 2024 -- injuries limited him to 14 games -- having him serve in a part-time role is "probably not what's in his best interest," per Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen. The roster spot should be a battle between Garrett Hampson and Blaze Alexander, with non-roster invitees Grae Kessinger, Ildemaro Vargas and Connor Kaiser also in the mix.

Shaw is nursing an oblique injury but is considered day-to-day, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Oblique issues can be worrisome, but this one at least appears to be minor. Still, any sort of setback for Shaw is not ideal since he is competing to be the Cubs' Opening Day third baseman. The team could hold its top prospect out of early spring training games to ensure he's 100 percent healthy before he joins the battle for the starting job at the hot corner.

Giants manager Bob Melvin said Friday that Luciano will be used as a corner outfielder this spring, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

It's not clear whether Luciano has been permanently moved from middle infield, but the Giants have been mulling a shift to the outfield for him for a while. Luciano admitted to being "totally lost" at the plate last season, when he managed just a .562 OPS and 34.6 percent strikeout rate in 27 games with the big club. The hope is that a move to a less taxing defensive position will help unlock his offensive potential. Luciano is likely to begin the 2025 season at Triple-A Sacramento.

Shaw's chances of starting the season as Chicago's regular third baseman seemingly improved when the club missed out on free agent Alex Bregman, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Shaw has seemingly had the inside track on the starting gig at the hot corner in recent weeks, though Bregman was looming in the background. However, now that the latter has signed with the Red Sox, Shaw seems to have a clearer path to the role. The 23-year-old will still need to have a solid spring, and the Cubs could still look to add a veteran option before camp ends, but any move now might be more along the lines of improving the bench. Shaw's fantasy outlook is on the rise, and he could be a breakout performer in 2025 given his prospect pedigree.

Johnson (foot) was spotted taking grounders at second base during Thursday's spring training workout, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

After suffering a right foot injury in an Oct. 9 game in the Arizona Fall League, Johnson was limited to just 11 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions and slashed .250/.444/.475 with a home run and three stolen bases. The injury doesn't appear to be anything that is limiting him early on during the spring, and though he's attending big-league camp with the Pirates, Johnson will likely be headed to Double-A Altoona to begin the 2025 season. The 20-year-old infielder remains one of Pittsburgh's top prospects and could make a push for his big-league debut later in the season if he continues to maintain high walk rates while putting his power and speed on display in the upper levels of the minors.

Abrams reported to spring training Monday and disclosed that he added about 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

A first-time All-Star in 2024, Abrams posted a career-best .314 on-base percentage to go with excellent counting numbers (20 home runs, 31 steals, 65 RBI and 79 runs), but his achievements were somewhat overshadowed by a late-season demotion to the minors, which came after he stayed out past curfew at a casino the night before a day game at Wrigley Field. Abrams addressed the incident publicly for the first time Wednesday, expressing remorse for his actions while noting that he had been in communication with members of the Washington coaching staff throughout the offseason. Now up to 200 pounds and with the embarrassing off-field incident behind him, Abrams believes that he's better prepared to withstand the rigors of a 162-game schedule and perform more consistently after he struggled to a .586 OPS in the second half of last season.

Lux is expected to see time at first, second and third base as well as the outfield this spring, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Lux was projected to be the everyday second baseman upon being acquired by the Reds, but manager Terry Francona indicated Tuesday that Lux will be exposed to several positions. Lux moved between shortstop and second base for the Dodgers in 2024.