MLB Player News

Baez left Friday's game against Cleveland after getting hit in the wrist by a pitch, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Baez appeared to be in some pain as he walked off the field, though it's not yet clear if he's seriously injured or if the Cubs are simply being cautious given that it's still early March. If he does wind up being diagnosed with an injury significant enough to keep him out past Opening Day, Nico Hoerner would be the top candidate to start at shortstop.

Mondesi (foot) will bat second and play shortstop Friday against the Dodgers, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Mondesi had been dealing with a sore foot since the start of camp and missed the Royals' first few spring games. The injury never seemed particularly serious, however, and returning to game action Friday gives him plenty of time to get up to speed by the regular season.

Story is starting at shortstop and batting second in Friday's spring game against the Brewers, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old took it easy for the first few games of spring training, but he'll slot in versus Milwaukee on Friday. Story had a .289/.355/.519 slash line with 11 homers, 15 stolen bases and 28 RBI in 59 games last season. He consistently remains one of the top shortstops in the league, though his counting stats could take a bit of a hit in 2021 due to the departure of Nolan Arenado this offseason.

DeJong is 0-for-4 with a strikeout across his first two Grapefruit League games.

The slugging shortstop will be trying to prove he's still got the pop that led to a career-high 30 home runs in 2019. DeJong's average saw a boost from 2019's .233 to .250 last season, but he also slugged a career-low .349 with just nine extra-base hits (six doubles, three homers) across 174 plate appearances. The 27-year-old's strikeout rate also rose to a career-high 28.7 percent last season despite the improvement in batting average, so he'll look to achieve that power resurgence while also improving his contact rate.

Royals manager Mike Matheny said Thursday that Mondesi (foot) is "moving in the right direction," Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Mondesi still hasn't made his Cactus League debut due to a sore foot that he sustained when fouling a ball off his foot prior to spring training. He'll work on running the bases and sliding Thursday as he continues his journey back to full strength. Matheny hasn't expressed much concern regarding the injury, but it's still not clear when Mondesi will be healthy enough to appear in spring games.

Bogaerts (shoulder) will start a throwing program Thursday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Bogaerts has been dealing with a sore right shoulder since early in camp. An MRI taken Monday revealed nothing serious, which seemingly leaves him with a good shot at being ready for Opening Day. He's been swinging for a couple days already and has now advanced to throwing; that's promising progress with the start of the regular season still four weeks away.

Cruz will start in center field Thursday for the first time in his career, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

"It's just adding something else to his tool box, and like we've talked about, versatility is important for our roster," manager Derek Shelton said. "So we're going to put him out there and see how it goes." While there's a good chance Cruz's final destination is right field, Shelton shifted him to center for this game because the angles are more similar to his old shortstop position. The 22-year-old is 1-for-5 with a walk in the early going.

Wendle (face) started at third base and went 0-for-2 in Wednesday's Grapefruit League win over the Pirates.

The valued veteran was back in action two days after being hit by a pitch in the helmet during Monday's game against the Twins. Wednesday's inclusion in the starting lineup corroborates the optimism manager Kevin Cash had expressed regarding Wendle's condition Tuesday, and the 30-year-old should be available without restrictions moving forward.

Franco went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League win over the Pirates, with Adam Berry of MLB.com reporting the round tripper appeared to land on the roof of the Rays' office behind right field at Charlotte Sports Park.

The Rays will do their best to stick to what would seem to be a level-headed approach of giving Franco some more minor-league seasoning for at least part of 2021, but the elite prospect may simply force the team's hand with respect to speeding up the timeline for his majors debut. Franco's second-inning blast off reliever Miguel Yajure easily scaled the boardwalk neighboring the right-field fence before finally making its descent, giving him a very memorable first hit of spring after an 0-for-5 tally over his first pair of Grapefruit League outings. Franco should continue to see plenty of at-bats for the balance of spring training, and although his pedigree keeps any possibility in play, it's likeliest he opens 2021 in the minors, potentially at Triple-A Durham.

Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that there is still enough time to build Bogaerts (shoulder) up in time for Opening Day, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Cora said Bogaerts is feeling better and that the team wants to be smart about his progression. The All-Star shortstop took 30 swings off a tee Tuesday and it sounds like he is questionable for the start of the season, although there is public optimism in that regard from the team.