Hernandez (elbow) said Wednesday that he's optimistic about being activated from the 60-day injured list when first eligible May 24, Jack Vita of the Los Angeles Times reports.

On the mend from Nov. 14 extensor repair procedure on his left elbow, Hernandez took a major step forward in his recovery process by hitting a baseball Wednesday for the first time since his surgery. Hernandez will still need to advance to facing live pitching in addition to proving that the elbow injury doesn't compromise him as a fielder before the Dodgers clear him for what will be an extended minor-league rehab assignment. Once activated, Hernandez projects to fill a utility role for the Dodgers and is likely to see most of his starts against left-handed pitching.

Lindor (hand) played catch Monday and will go through defensive drills and other baseball activities Tuesday, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

The Mets are hoping that Lindor will be able to swing a bat Tuesday or Wednesday as he continues to work his way back from hamate bone surgery. It likely would be dry swings initially before he gradually ramps up his progression. Lindor has a chance to be ready by Opening Day for the Mets but cannot afford any bumps in the road in his recovery.

McLain batted second and went 2-for-2 with two walks, two home runs, six RBI and a third run scored in Monday's spring game against the Cubs.

McLain is wielding a hot stick early in the Cactus League and is 8-for-14 with three homers and nine RBI through five games. He appears poised for a bounce-back season after slumping for much of 2025 and landing in the bottom of the order. McLain is looking like he did in 2023, when he posted an .864 OPS and 127 OPS+ as a rookie.

Bogaerts has made the most starts out of the leadoff spot through the Padres' first 10 Cactus League games and would appear to be the leading candidate to open the season atop the batting order, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Fernando Tatis (150) and Luis Arraez (11) made all but one start out of the leadoff spot for the Padres during the 2025 regular season, but San Diego will be breaking in a new table setter in 2026 with Arraez now in San Francisco and with first-year manager Craig Stammen planning to move Tatis down to the third or fourth spot. Bogaerts primarily slotted somewhere between fourth and sixth in the lineup last season, but as a high-contact hitter with good speed on the bases, he should make for a logical choice to lead off. However, with Bogaerts away from the team until at least March 12 while he participates in the World Baseball Classic, Stammen will experiment with other options atop the order during Cactus League play. Jake Cronenworth will bat leadoff in Monday's game against the Athletics and could represent the top fallback option to Bogaerts once the season gets underway.

Winn didn't start Monday's spring training game versus the Marlins as initially anticipated due to right arm soreness, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that Winn is "fine" and the soreness is a result of a "heavy" workload on the backfields Sunday. The plan is for Winn to return to action Thursday or Friday, though Marmol said he's willing to adjust plans if Winn wants to play Wednesday in an exhibition versus Team Nicaragua. Winn is 2-for-8 with a 3:2 BB:K and one stolen base in his first four Grapefruit League contests.

Cowles was claimed off waivers by the Cubs on Sunday.

Cowles will return to Cubs camp after being designated for assignment by Chicago on Feb. 15 and ultimately claimed by the Blue Jays a few days later. The infielder appeared in five spring-training games in his time with Toronto, going 0-for-9 with five strikeouts. Cowles played in 113 games with Triple-A Iowa in 2025, batting .238 with nine home runs, 44 RBI, 55 runs scored and 16 stolen bases over 421 at-bats. He'll likely open the 2026 campaign at Triple-A if he sticks around with the Cubs' organization.

Sirota (knee) swatted a solo home run in his only at-bat during Saturday's Cactus League loss to Texas.

Sirota entered as a pinch runner in the sixth inning and remained in the game in right field. He got one plate appearance and took full advantage of the opportunity, belting a solo homer to left field off minor-league lefty Dalton Pence in the eighth frame. Sirota ended last season on the minor-league 60-day IL due to a knee injury, but he appears to be past the issue. The 22-year-old is one of the Dodgers' top prospects after posting a .333/.452/.616 slash line with 13 homers, 54 RBI, 48 runs, five stolen bases and a 48:59 BB:K over 59 games between Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and High-A Great Lakes last year. He figures to progress to the upper levels of the minors this season and could be a fixture on the big-league squad as soon as 2027.

Williams said that he hasn't appeared in a Cactus League game since Monday due to left quadriceps soreness, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Williams noted that he sustained the injury while legging out a triple in Monday's 7-5 loss to the Padres. The 22-year-old downplayed the severity of the issue and expressed confidence that he would be back in action soon. Acquired from the Mets in January, Williams is looking to claim a spot on the Brewers' Opening Day roster, but he's more likely to begin the season as an everyday player at Triple-A Nashville.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday that Kessinger sustained "a pretty significant injury" to his left hamstring and will need at least 8-12 weeks to recover, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Mendoza added that surgery is "on the table" for Kessinger, with a procedure likely to keep the 28-year-old out through the longer end of that timeline. Even if Kessinger is able to avoid surgery, he'll be out of the running for a spot on the Mets' Opening Day roster as a utility infielder.

McLain batted second and went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's spring game against Milwaukee.

McLain has batted second and gathered hits in all four of his Cactus League appearances so far, going 6-for-12 with a walk and three RBI. He opened 2025 batting near the top of the batting order but struggled for much of the season and eventually was dropped to the bottom third. If he continues to hit like this, McLain could find himself batting second again with protection from Elly De La Cruz behind him.