MLB Player News

Pennington signed a split contract with Cincinnati on Thursday, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports.

Pennington will earn $1.5 million if he makes the major-league roster. The 33-year-old played in 87 games with the Angels in 2017, slashing .253/.306/.330 with three home runs and 21 RBI. If he winds up carving out a spot on the big-league team, expect Pennington to serve in a reserve role as a bench infielder, although his value will be capped due to limited abilities at the dish.

Cordoba suffered a concussion after being involved in a car accident a few days ago, MLB.com's AJ Cassavell reports.

At this point, there is no timetable for Cordoba's return, although it's expected that he will be fully recovered well before Opening Day. Since the nature of a concussion can be wide-ranging, the club is choosing to take is easy with Cordoba, so don't expect him to be back doing any baseball activities in the near future. There should be an update on his status within the next couple weeks.

Cordoba will be brought along slowly at the start of spring training after he was part of a car accident recently, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear exactly what is ailing the 22-year-old, but the Padres likely want to take things slowly with him even if it's something minor. It doesn't seem like this should affect his availability for the start of the regular season, but more information should come forth as he ramps up his activity. After batting .208 with the Padres last season, Cordoba will likely head back to the minors for more seasoning.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Saturday that Rojas would receive the chance to compete with J.T. Riddle for the starting shortstop role during spring training, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. "I think we look at Riddle and [Miguel] Rojas both as shortstops," Mattingly said when asked about potential starters.

Rojas offers a solid glove at multiple spots across the infield and posted a strong .361 on-base percentage across 306 plate appearances in 2017, but a dearth of power makes him best optimized as a utility man. For that reason, Riddle would seem to have the edge on the everyday gig heading into the spring, though the performance of both shortstops in Grapefruit League play may ultimately dictate Mattingly's decision.

Noonan will attend the Athletics' spring training as a non-roster invitee, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Noonan has seen time with five different organizations over the past three seasons, most recently with Triple-A Colorado Springs within the Brewers' farm league. The 28-year-old has appeared in just 83 big-league games during his 11-year professional career and offers very little value at the plate. He'll look to crack the Athletics' Opening Day roster as a reserve utility infielder but will most likely open the 2018 campaign in the minors.

Crawford appears to be on top of the depth chart at shortstop for the Phillies heading into spring training, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.

The middle infield prospect garnered a big-league callup last September, but he spent much of his time at third base rather than his natural position. However, shortstop seems to be Crawford's for the taking now that incumbent Freddy Galvis is out of town. Even with that in mind, the 23-year-old will need to pick things up at the plate after a sluggish 2017 campaign if he wants to be relevant in single-season leagues. Last season, he batted just .243 in Triple-A and struck out over 25 percent of the time in Philadelphia. However, his extremely high walk rate gives him some value in leagues that track OBP rather than batting average, and his recent power development (20 doubles, six triples, 15 home runs at Triple-A last season) certainly adds some intrigue if it translates to the majors.

Tejada will attend Orioles' spring training as a non-roster invitee, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports.

Tejada, who played 41 games for Baltimore last season, returned to the team on a minor-league contract. He'll have the chance to compete for a utility role at spring training. During his time with the club in 2017 he hit .230 with a .576 OPS.

Sardinas was invited to Orioles spring training, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports.

It had been expected that Sardinas would compete for a utility role in the upcoming season, so his invitation to spring training doesn't come as much of a surprise. Sardinas has experience in the outfield as well as first base, second base, third base and shortstop. However, he hasn't been very productive at the plate. Over 174 games in the Show, Sardinas has hit .229/.278/.293.

Castro signed a minor-league contract with the Rockies which includes an invitation to spring training.

Castro's ability to play around the infield earned him a pair of trips to the majors in 2015 and 2016, though he struggled to a .217/.250/.265 line across 239 plate appearances during that time and subsequently spent all of last season in the minors. The 25-year-old, who hit a respectable .306/.344/.397 in 115 games for Triple-A Albuquerque in 2017, should compete for a utility role in spring.

Mondesi will compete for a job in spring training, but may open the year at Triple-A Omaha following Friday's signing of Alcides Escobar, 610 Sports Radio reports.

There are few intriguing fantasy options on the Royals, but Mondesi was lining up to be one of them, as a potential power/speed shortstop with a slick glove. However, general manager Dayton Moore said Escobar will play shortstop for the Royals and Mondesi will compete at second base in spring training. Of course, Whit Merrifield would either need to be traded or moved to third base for Mondesi to win the starting job at the keystone. An Escobar/Mondesi double-play duo might be the best defensive pairing in the majors if it came to pass, but Moore's comments about Mondesi are awfully troubling. For now it seems safe to discount Mondesi quite a bit in drafts, as he now carries a lot more playing time risk than it initially seemed he would.