MLB Player News

Owings went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and one strikeout in Thursday's spring win over the Angels.

Owings put the Rockies on the board with a two-run blast in the second inning Thursday, and he hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth frame. Owings has performed well with a 1.128 OPS, four home runs and seven RBI this spring, but he should serve as utility depth for Colorado once the regular season gets underway.

Chang was informed Friday that he'd won a bench spot on Cleveland's Opening Day roster, source reports.

Chang gives the team an additional defensive option at the middle-infield spots, but he's unlikely to offer much at the plate if he's pressed into duty on a regular basis. Through his first 97 major-league plate appearances, he's hit just .179/.289/.262.

Diaz (hamstring) will bat ninth as the designated hitter in Friday's spring game against the Marlins, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

The 30-year-old hasn't seen game action since March 17 due to hamstring tightness, but he'll return to the lineup for Friday's contest. Diaz shouldn't have an issue being ready for Opening Day if he's cleared to play in the field within the next few days.

Strange-Gordon was released by the Reds on Friday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Strange-Gordon's chances of making the team diminished once the Reds moved Eugenio Suarez to shortstop. He also got hurt by Alex Blandino's strong spring.

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.