MLB Player News

For the first time Sunday, general manager Ben Cherington announced that Cruz could practice at other positions in addition to shortstop during spring training, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

While Cherington believes that the 22-year-old could play shortstop in the big leagues, Cruz's most likely path to Pittsburgh may be as a right fielder given his 6-foot-7 stature. The general manager gave no update to the offseason accident involving Cruz, but he has already gone on record indicating alcohol was not a part of the car crash that took the lives of three people, and he doesn't expect the tragedy to impact Cruz's baseball future. The prospect batted .245 with a 1:14 BB:K in 49 at-bats during Dominican Winter League play.

Rays general manager Erik Neander says that Franco (biceps), the organization's top prospect, will have every aspect of his physical and mental preparedness closely monitored while he plays out his spring training invite, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 19-year-old phenom is considered to be relatively close to the big leagues despite his precocious age and the lost 2020 minor-league season. Franco is not only considered the Rays' top prospect by far, but he's been the consensus No. 1 in all of baseball two years running. Winter ball was supposed to help Franco make up for some lost developmental time late in 2020, but he was only able to log five games before shoulder soreness and biceps inflammation led to a shutdown. He's not expected to face any limitations once spring training begins, and Neander notes that Franco's elite pedigree notwithstanding, the shortstop will have "nothing handed to him" and will see his physical, emotional and mental maturity heavily evaluated during his time around the big-league club over the next several weeks. Franco's most recent minor-league stop was High-A Charlotte back in 2019, and given his level of dominance at that level, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to see him already start the 2021 campaign at Triple-A Durham.

The Yankees announced Wednesday that Wells received an invitation to big-league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Duran, 21, is considered one of the top middle-infield prospects in the organization. The Yankees will allow the second baseman to train with some of the organization's more established players early on in camp, but he'll likely be assigned to minor-league camp shortly after the exhibition schedule gets underway. Duran most recently appeared for the Yankees' New York-Penn League affiliate in 2019, slashing .256/.329/.496 with 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases over 66 games.

Amaya will attend the Dodgers' big-league camp this spring, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Amaya spent last season at the team's alternate training site after hitting a combined .260 with seven homers and 71 RBI across two levels in 2019. He has considerable defensive talent and a good eye at the plate but hasn't yet demonstrated an ability to hit for power.

Swanson lost his arbitration case Tuesday and will earn $6 million this season, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Swanson had filed at $6.7 million. The shortstop produced an above-average batting line last season (hitting .274/.345/.464) for the first time since his 38-game debut back in 2016, adding 10 homers and five steals, but it evidently wasn't enough to win the case.

Shewmake was invited to Atlanta's major-league spring training camp Monday.

Shewmake was only just drafted in 2019, but his big-league debut may not be too far off. He advanced all the way to Double-A Mississippi in his first professional season, though he played just 14 games there and struggled at the plate. The canceled minors season last year prevented him from continuing his climb, so he may still have to conquer both Double-A and Triple-A before pushing for a roster spot.

Luciano received an invitation Friday to the Giants' big-league spring training camp.

Luciano is a fantastic talent, displaying top-of-the-scale exit velocities, good plate discipline and the potential to stick at shortstop. He's unlikely to be seriously considered for an Opening Day roster spot, as he's just 19 years old and has played all of 47 professional games, none of which have come at the full-season level, but he'll get to work with the big-league coaching staff for a few weeks in hopes of joining them on a permanent basis as soon as 2022.

Downs received an invitation to the Red Sox's major-league spring training Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The organization's top prospect spent 2020 at the alternate training site, so he still received some developmental time despite the lack of a minor-league season. Downs had a brief 12-game stint at Double-A in 2019, but he spent most of the year at the High-A level and posted an .861 OPS with 19 homers and 23 stolen bases in 107 games. The 22-year-old could make his major-league debut in 2021, though he's facing long odds to make the Opening Day roster.

Strange-Gordon will spend some time at shortstop this spring, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Strange-Gordon joined the Reds as a non-roster invitee Sunday, so he isn't even guaranteed a roster spot. He's been mostly a second baseman for the majority of his career, but he has at least made 13 starts at shortstop over the last four seasons. He'll probably be a utility man if he does make the team, but the Reds' other options at short consist of a rather uninspiring group, including the not yet ready Jose Garcia, Rule 5 pick Kyle Holder and fellow utility man Kyle Farmer, so there's certainly a path to Strange-Gordon receiving regular at-bats.

Strange-Gordon signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Sunday, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reports.

The 32-year-old spent the past three years in Seattle but struggled at the plate in 2020 with a .200/.268/.213 slash line in 82 plate appearances, leading to the team declining his option for 2021. Strange-Gordon likely will compete for a utility role in spring training with the Reds.