MLB Player News

D'Arnaud (bronchitis) is scheduled to face minor league pitchers Monday and make his return to the Braves' Grapefruit League lineup Tuesday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The veteran utility man has missed two weeks of camp with the illness, but d'Arnaud still has plenty of time to solidify his spot on the team's bench before Opening Day.

Crawford went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI in Saturday's World Baseball Classic loss to Team Domincan Republic.

Crawford had been struggling in Cactus League action (2-for-17), so his fantasy owners will be relieved to see that he is getting off to a good start in the Classic (3-for-7). His ability to perform in the WBC holds more weight than spring training numbers, considering the competitive nature of the tournament in comparison to spring training games where Crawford has nothing to prove. The slugging infielder will open the season as the Giants' everyday shortstop.

Swanson (back) began hitting balls off a tee Sunday but is still days away from returning to Grapefruit League action, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The former first-overall draft pick seems to be progressing at a good pace, as he just got back to fielding drills late last week. The Braves definitely are taking this slowly with their franchise shortstop, but Swanson appears to be on track to return to action later this week if all goes as planned.

Seager (oblique) remains without a timetable to return, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers' everyday shortstop continues to be hampered by tightness in his oblique. The fact that he is still without a timetable despite initial expectations of a return Saturday is concerning, but there's still no indication that his status for Opening Day is in jeopardy. In any case, Seager's progress in the coming days will be a story line to monitor.

Seager (back/oblique) is still experiencing tightness and it's uncertain when he may return to the lineup, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

The plan was for Seager to return to action Saturday but manager Dave Roberts backed off that expectation Friday. To this point, the injury has been classified as an upper-back issue, but Roberts clarified that's it's actually a "mild" oblique injury. Seager still has time to ramp up toward Opening Day but this will be a situation worth monitoring closely.

Swanson (back) has participated in some fielding drills over the last two days and is slated to resume action in games over the weekend, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The blue-chip prospect's back soreness has kept him away from his normal work since earlier in the week, but Swanson appears to have taken a turn toward getting back on the diamond. Presuming he begins the season healthy, the 23-year-old should deliver a decent fantasy return. While the long-locked shortstop won't stand out in one particular category, his nearly across-the-board yield should do the job.

Diaz went 2-for-2 with an RBI double, another two-bagger and two runs in Wednesday's 9-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Nationals.

Diaz boosted his explosive spring stat line to .474/.450/.579 with the effort, with the pair of doubles representing his first extra-base hits of spring. The Cardinals' everyday shortstop heading into the regular season, Diaz will be a coveted fantasy asset in all formats, although it remains to be seen if the 17 home runs he blasted in 2016 were an outlier; prior to last season, Diaz had not posted more than 10 round-trippers in any of his five minor league stops.

Herrera was reassigned to minor league camp Thursday.

The 24-year-old pieced together a solid season at Double-A Hartford last season, but an average spring showing paired with little prospect pedigree punched his ticket back to the minor leagues. Herrera will likely split time between Double-A and Triple-A this season.

D'Arnaud is still sidelined after developing bronchitis, Kevin McAlpin of the Braves Radio Network reports.

The 30-year-old also received the instructions to stay away from camp until he's not contagious, so it seems like he'll be held out for another few days. It shouldn't be of long-term concern, however, so d'Arnaud should resume his spot as a utility player upon his return.

Rojas (face) has passed concussion tests, Matthew DeFranks of the Sun Sentinel reports.

Doctors cleared him after he was hit in the face with a throw while attempting to steal a base Tuesday. He should return to normal club workouts soon on his way to a likely roster spot as a utility infielder.