MLB Player News

Garcia spent the offseason bulking up and working on his swing, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Garcia is expected to begin the season back in the minors after being rushed in 2020, but the Reds didn't improve with a full-time major league offseason, opening the door for him to make the team, even if it's just a small chance. "We just have to be really thoughtful about doing what's best for Jose," manager David Bell said. "Obviously our goal is to win as a team. We'll have to see how it plays out. It wouldn't surprise me if he started in the minor leagues, and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up being a big part of our major league team this year."

White Sox manager Tony LaRussa said Wednesday that Anderson will serve as the club's leadoff hitter this season, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Even with Chicago bringing in a new skipper for 2021, Anderson was fully expected to retain his leadoff role after slashing .322/.357/.529 over 221 plate appearances last season. For the second straight year, Anderson greatly outperformed his expected batting average (.293), but even if regression finally rears its head in 2021, the 27-year-old should remain a major asset in that category. His power/speed combination and placement atop one of the majors' strongest lineups further burnishes his fantasy value.

Crawford showed up to the Mariners' first day of full-squad workouts Tuesday sporting about 10 additional pounds of muscle, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old made significant improvements in both batting average (.255, up from .226) and on-base percentage (.336, up from .313) last season compared to 2019, but he knocked only two balls out of the park in 232 plate appearances. Crawford has never hit more than the seven home runs he managed in 2019 as far as the major-league level is concerned, but he did rack up 15 round trippers back in 2017 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley while still in the Phillies organization. Crawford's focus on adding strength this offseason undoubtedly was largely centered on improving his overall production at the plate as he looks to get his offense closer to the level of his Gold Glove defense at shortstop.

Arcia will work at third base "a substantial amount" during spring training, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Arcia is most likely to see playing time at shortstop this season, but Luis Arcia should also get increased reps at the position during spring training. As a result, manager Craig Counsell said that the team will move Orlando around during camp, and he could see plenty of time at the hot corner. The 26-year-old slashed .260/.317/.416 with five home runs and 20 RBI over 59 games in 2020.

Mateo will have the chance to compete for the backup center fielder job during spring training, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Mateo played center field in 29 minor-league contests in 2017 and got one start there with the Padres last season, so he's not a complete stranger to the position. He'll be vying for an Opening Day roster spot during spring training, though his struggles at the plate last season suggest that he's not certain to make the cut.

Adames trained "harder than last year" this offseason after a significantly underwhelming finish to the 2020 season and postseason, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Adames split his training time between Miami and Santiago in the Dominican Republic this offseason after hitting just .149 over his last 18 games and following it up with an even more meager .136 mark in the postseason. Like teammate Kevin Kiermaier, Adames confessed to fears of being traded this past offseason, but he's back in his usual starting shortstop role and is looking forward to seeing his offseason work pay dividends. "Hopefully this year is a little bit different for me in a good way," Adames said. "I'm just happy to be around, just happy to be back and can't wait to be on the field and show what we can do."

Nationals manager Dave Martinez acknowledged Sunday that he's considering moving Turner from the leadoff spot into the No. 2 or 3 spot in the order in 2021, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports. "Possibly," Martinez said, regarding the possibility of shifting Turner down a spot or two in the lineup. "Like I said, we're running a lot of different lineups, different numbers, talking to a bunch of our analytical people."

Coming off an abbreviated 2020 campaign in which Turner slashed an impressive .335/.394/.588, the Nationals are looking for ways to maximize his production at the plate. While slotting one spot lower in the lineup would likely result in a hit to Turner's stolen-base opportunities, he would benefit from an increase in chances to drive in runs. Only 58 of Turner's 259 plate appearances last season came with a runner in scoring position, resulting in the 27-year-old netting only 41 RBI in 59 games despite a monstrous .982 OPS. The Nationals don't have an ideal option on the roster who can come close to providing Turner's speed and on-base skills versus right-handed pitching, but Martinez floated the possibility of Victor Robles replacing Turner as the leadoff man versus lefties. Expect Martinez to experiment with his lineups throughout Grapefruit League play before determining whether Turner will slot in the order once Opening Day arrives.

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.