Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Friday that Holliday will be getting reps at shortstop and could play at the position at the start of the 2025 regular season due to the potential absence of Gunnar Henderson (side), Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

The Orioles are going through contingency plans in case Henderson cannot play in the early portion of the 2025 campaign, and that includes having Holliday or even Jordan Westburg filling in at shortstop. Holliday mostly played shortstop in the minors, but he transitioned to second base during spring training in 2024 and mostly played there during the regular season. He struggled out of the gate in 2024 and finished the regular season with a slash line of .189/.255/.311 with four stolen bases, five home runs and 23 RBI across 208 plate appearances.

Mateo (elbow) has begun hitting in a cage but is still a long shot to be ready by Opening Day, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mateo is working through his recovery from the UCL reconstruction surgery he underwent on his left elbow in late August. He's upgraded from hitting off a tee to in the cage, but it appears the 29-year-old is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day and could begin the 2025 regular season on the injured list. He appeared in 68 regular-season games for the Orioles in 2024 and posted a slash line of .229/.267/.401 with 13 stolen bases, five home runs and 18 RBI across 208 plate appearances.

Kasevich will be sidelined several weeks after aggravating a stress reaction in his lower back in a game last weekend, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It's not clear when Kasevich suffered the initial injury, but he's now had a setback. The 24-year-old infielder finished last season at Triple-A Buffalo and will be assigned there once he's healthy enough to play.

Tovar (triceps) will start at shortstop and bat second in Friday's Cactus League game versus the Rangers.

Tovar was removed from Wednesday's contest against the Padres after being hit on the left triceps by a pitch, but he's fine and back out there after a day of rest. The young shortstop is 4-for-17 with three doubles at the dish so far this spring.

The Tigers announced Friday that Perez is dealing with lower-back tightness but is expected to participate in full baseball activities this weekend, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Perez hasn't seen the field since Sunday due to the injury, but he appears to be trending in the right direction after taking a few days to rest up. If healthy, the 25-year-old has a strong chance to begin the season with a regular role for the Tigers since Matt Vierling (shoulder) will begin the campaign on the injured list.

Abrams' slow start to spring training isn't a concern yet for the Nationals, Bobby Blanco of MASN Sports reports.

The shortstop's issues on and off the field late last season, which prompted a demotion to Triple-A Rochester, have put a spotlight on his performance early in camp. So far Abrams has struggled, going 3-for-19 (.158) through six Grapefruit League appearances with zero strikeouts or walks, but it's the latter the team wants him to focus on. "We know he's got some power. We want to make sure that it doesn't transpire into just him trying to hit home runs all the time," manager Dave Martinez said this week. "We need him to get on base for us. If he's going to lead off, he's got to be able to get on base, accept his walks. Right now, he's really trying to work on staying on the ball and work on his timing a little bit. But he's been really good." Abrams was slashing .283/.344/.513 at the end of June last year prior to his second-half struggles, and the Nats still believe he can provide that level of production on a consistent basis.

Clement went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.

Getting the start at third base and batting seventh in what might have been a preview of Toronto's Opening Day lineup, Clement turned on a Cooper Criswell offering in the second inning and drove it out to center field for his first homer of the spring. The 28-year-old infielder has gotten off to a hot start in camp, going 8-for-17 (.471) in seven appearances, but he'll likely need to improve on last season's .284 OBP if he's going to be anything more than a utility player in the majors over the long haul.

The Cubs have not yet made a decision as to whether to carry Shaw on the roster for their two-game series versus the Dodgers in Tokyo from March 18-19, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Mooney indicates that Shaw would probably be a lock for the Tokyo series roster and set to start at third base if the infielder had not suffered an oblique injury that's limited him to just nine Cactus League plate appearances so far. Because Shaw is behind schedule, the club could elect to hold him back in preparation for its domestic opener. In that instance, Gage Workman, Justin Turner, Jon Berti and Vidal Brujan would be under consideration for playing time at third base in Tokyo.

The Dodgers reassigned Freeland to minor-league camp Thursday.

Freeland breezed through the Dodgers' farm system last season, reaching Triple-A Oklahoma City by early August after starting the year with High-A Great Lakes. His bat stayed hot during Cactus League play, as he went 3-for-10 with a home run and three runs scored over eight games, though he also struck out six times. The 23-year-old will return to Triple-A to begin the 2025 campaign, but he's put himself in a good position to make his major-league debut at some point this year.

Montgomery (back) is expected to return to Cactus League action as soon as Saturday and no later than Monday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Montgomery hasn't played in more than a week because of back spasms but is making nice progress. The shortstop took some swings off the Trajekt machine as part of his baseball activities Thursday, and it appears as though his return to the lineup is imminent. Montgomery is competing for the White Sox' shortstop job this spring, so he can't afford to miss much more time.