MLB Player News

Mondesi (forehead) is not in the lineup for Friday's spring game against the Rockies.

Mondesi was forced to exit Thursday's exhibition game after a hard head-first slide resulted in a cut above his eye. Manager Ned Yost indicated the 23-year-old was fine, and the issue shouldn't impact his status for Opening Day.

Mondesi is dealing with a minor cut above his eye, but will be fine after exiting Thursday's spring game, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Mondesi suffered the injury after a head-first slide into third base on a stolen-base attempt, but the Royals can breathe a sigh of relief as manager Ned Yost stated that his starting shortstop is just fine. Mondesi's status for Opening Day shouldn't be impacted by this minor issue.

Mondesi exited Thursday's game against the Rangers after a hard head-first slide while stealing third base, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Flanagan notes that Mondesi looked a little shaken up but that it didn't appear to be a serious issue. There was no indication as to what part of Mondesi's body might have been affected during the slide.

Seager (illness) played three innings at shortstop and logged two at-bats in a minor-league camp game on Thursday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

It was the first time Seager had played shortstop in a game since May 2018, and the 24-year-old got one defensive rep on an infield single while also going 0-for-2 at the plate. Seager was recovering from Tommy John surgery and a hip injury this spring before he came down with his recent illness, but manager Dave Roberts did say last week he thinks his young shortstop "absolutely" stands a chance at being ready to go for Opening Day on March 28.

Lindor (calf) is playing in another minor-league game Thursday, but is not yet cleared to run at full speed, T.J. Zuppe of The Athletic reports.

Zuppe notes that Lindor has gotten quite good at briskly jogging in the field, and it is encouraging that he is right back out there after participating in a similar game Wednesday.

Turner went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Braves.

He took Kevin Gausman deep in the first inning for his first homer of the spring. Turner is hitting just .231 (6-for-26) through 10 games, but his 4:5 BB:K and 2-for-2 success rate on the basepaths indicates there's no cause for concern. The shortstop will open the season hitting near the top of a potent Nats order, and should be considered among the favorites to lead MLB in steals in 2019.

Diaz started at third base and went 2-for-2 with a walk in Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Diaz has started at second base, third base and shortstop during spring action and played a few outfield innings. He's not a direct replacement for Marwin Gonzalez, but Diaz will move around those three infield positions. Diaz is hitting .172 (5-for-29) with two RBI, seven strikeouts and four walks.

Ahmed went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Ahmed is batting .318 (7-for-22) this spring, a good sign after the shortstop fell to .234 in 2018. He played 153 games last season, but the recent acquisition of Adam Jones could put a crimp in his playing time this year. Manager Torey Lovullo plans to get Ketel Marte into lineup nearly every day and will rotate him between center field, second base and shortstop to accommodate Jones.

Seager (illness) will play defense in a minor-league contest Thursday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Seager had been delayed to start camp while he recovered from Tommy John surgery and hip surgery and then suffered a further delay when he came down with an illness. He had hit in minor-league action but will take the field for the first time in the Cactus League on Thursday. He'll have two weeks to get prepared for Opening Day.

Crawford was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Crawford appeared to be the potential shortstop of the future when he was acquired in the Jean Segura trade over the offseason, but that future won't begin right away. He could still be up for a fair amount of run later in the year, but Tim Beckham will start the season at short for Seattle.