MLB Player News

Bichette went 3-for-3 with his first two home runs of the spring in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Both blasts went to the opposite field and came off big-league-caliber arms in Deivi Garcia and Luis Cessa. Bichette had a sluggish start to camp, but he's heating up at the right time, and the 23-year-old now sports a .289/.400/.500 slash line with a 7:12 BB:K through 45 plate appearances this spring.

Diaz won't play in Wednesday's spring game against the Nationals due to hamstring tightness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dusty Baker said that Diaz should be able to play Thursday after being held out Wednesday, and the issue isn't expected to impact the 30-year-old's availability for Opening Day. Diaz has appeared in 11 Grapefruit League games and has slashed .313/.376/.438 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs, five walks and two strikeouts.

Bogaerts went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's spring game against Atlanta.

Bogaerts, who missed the first two weeks of Grapefruit League play due to a shoulder injury, launched his first home run of spring training. He's managed to get 25 Grapefruit League plate appearances and should be fine for the regular season.

Arcia will split time at third base with Travis Shaw and at shortstop with Luis Urias this season, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The exact hierarchy among the trio remains unclear, but it looks as though all three could split time fairly equally. Shaw is the lone lefty in the group, so it's likely Arcia and Urias will both start against southpaws while alternating days off against right-handers.

Anderson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Monday's spring game against San Francisco.

He launched his first Cactus League home run leading off the bottom of the first inning. Anderson then plated a second run with his second-inning double. After a slow start, Anderson is dialing in his swing, as he's gone 3-for-8 with three extra-base hits in the last two games.

Witt will spend some time in the outfield over the next few weeks as he looks to expand his defensive versatility, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Despite receiving a considerable amount of hype throughout camp, Witt will be opening the season in the minors, hardly a surprise given that he's played all of 37 games at the professional level, all in rookie ball. One of the issues regarding his eventual ascension to the big leagues, which could come later this year if he looks good in the minors, is what position he'll play, as he shares his primary spot (shortstop) with one of the Royals' best young players, Adalberto Mondesi. Moving one of them to second is the most obvious solution, as Nicky Lopez hasn't looked like an everyday player, though showing the ability to play somewhere in the outfield will give Witt additional paths to playing time.

Ahmed went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Sunday's spring game against the White Sox.

The home run was Ahmed's first this spring and a good sign he's locking in after missing time due to a knee issue. In three Cactus League games since getting back on the field, Ahmed is 2-for-8 with three runs scored. He's confident he'll be ready for the regular season, telling Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, "I'm going to get plenty of at-bats and plenty of reps defensively. I'm going to be fine."

Witt won't make Kansas City's Opening Day roster and was reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The 20-year-old put himself in roster consideration with a strong start to spring training, but he cooled off recently and will begin the season in the minors. It's not much of a surprise, as Witt has only 164 professional at-bats under his belt after playing in 37 games at rookie ball in 2019. Kansas City's top prospect may end up at Double-A and could still end up making his major-league debut in 2021.

Story went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and one walk in Saturday's spring loss to the Cubs.

Story's power has been on full display this spring, and he put the Rockies on the board Saturday with a solo blast in the fourth inning. The shortstop has appeared in 10 Cactus League games and has gone 7-for-28 with four home runs, one double, seven RBI and nine strikeouts. Story has played on consecutive days just twice this spring, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. However, he'll occupy an everyday role in Colorado's lineup once the regular season gets underway.

The Reds optioned Garcia to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

This isn't a surprise -- Garcia hadn't started any of the last seven games for the Reds and had moved Eugenio Suarez over to shortstop amid much fanfare. Garcia will get more time to develop the bat and is still very much in the Reds' long-term plans.