MLB Player News

Downs (side) will be available for Saturday's spring game against the Braves, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 22-year-old has been sidelined this week after suffering an injury to his left side last weekend, but he should return to game action Saturday. Downs played 12 games at Double-A in 2019, but he could open 2021 at the Triple-A level after working at the alternate training site last season.

Ahmed went 1-for-3 in Thursday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Ahmed played for the first time in 12 days after dealing with a knee injury and a personal leave. Arizona's starting shortstop will have two weeks to get his timing down before the start of the regular season.

Wendle, who'd gone 0-for-10 with four strikeouts over his first six Grapefruit League games, went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run in a Grapefruit League win over the Pirates on Wednesday.

Thanks to the small sample, Wendle's spring average sprung to .231 with the productive performance. Despite his early struggles, there's not much doubt about the veteran's prowess at the plate after he bounced back from a poor 2019 with a solid .286/.342/.435 slash that included 15 extra-base hits (nine doubles, two triples, four home runs) and 17 RBI across 184 plate appearances in 2020.

Chang was scratched from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs with a sore neck, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

The injury doesn't appear to be something that could significantly threaten Chang's readiness for Opening Day. If healthy, he stands a good chance of winning a bench role, though he doesn't have an obvious path to regular at-bats.

Bichette has gone 4-for-23 (.174) without an extra-base hit through 10 Grapefruit League games.

It's a shaky start to the spring, particularly for a player who set records for his extra-base prowess as a rookie in 2019, but Bichette's 5:6 BB:K indicates he's seeing the ball well and just hasn't gotten his swing entirely in sync yet. There's little reason to worry about a 23-year-old with a .307/.347/.549 slash line to begin his big-league career, and Bichette is poised to increase his RBI and run production this year thanks to the additions of George Springer and Marcus Semien to the Jays' lineup.

Ahmed (personal) will bat second and play shortstop Thursday against the Dodgers.

Ahmed hasn't played a Cactus League game in 12 days, missing time first with knee soreness and then due to a personal issue. With Opening Day still two weeks away, however, he should have enough time to continue his spring buildup and get up to full speed or close to it by the start of the regular season.

The Blue Jays optioned Lopez to their minor-league camp Thursday.

Lopez was one of 25 players the Blue Jays sent to minor-league camp in the organization's latest round of roster cuts. The 22-year-old infielder is likely to begin the 2021 campaign at Double-A New Hampshire or High-A Vancouver.

Anderson batted leadoff and went 0-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's spring game against the Padres.

Anderson is 6-for-29 with a .475 OPS over 10 Cactus League appearances, but those numbers shouldn't scare off fantasy owners. He had subpar spring training in 2020 then posted a career-high .886 OPS. He possess a combination of power and speed that should be useful even if last season's high BABIP (.383) regresses.

Bogaerts (shoulder) will start at shortstop Wednesday for the first time this spring, Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald reports.

Bogaerts has been limited to DH duty since making his spring debut last Friday, but he is set to see his first action in the field in Wednesday's contest. Barring any setbacks over the next couple weeks, expect Bogaerts to occupy the starting shortstop spot come Opening Day.

General manager Dayton Moore said Tuesday that the Royals are open to putting Witt on the Opening Day roster, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

The 20-year-old never seemed to have much of a chance of opening the season in the majors given that he has yet to see professional game action above rookie ball, but he's made an incredible impression so far in spring training. Witt has a .333/.379/.667 slash line with three home runs, seven RBI and nine runs through 11 Cactus League contests. The second overall pick of the 2019 draft primarily plays shortstop, but Moore made clear that Witt can also play second base, third base and center field. Kansas City's decision could get more difficult if he continues to perform well over the final two weeks of camp.