MLB Player News

Clement is the favorite to begin the season as the Blue Jays' starting third baseman, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Toronto's affinity for utility players likely means Clement won't stay at the hot corner, however -- the 28-year-old saw 41 games at shortstop last season in addition to 96 at third base, and he has prior experience at second base and in left field as well. Clement slashed a passable .263/.284/.408 in 2024 with 12 homers and 12 steals over 452 plate appearances, but he'll be pushed for playing time by Will Wagner, Orelvis Martinez, Addison Barger and others as the Jays look for more offense from their lineup.

Martinez will get a real chance in camp to win a spot on the 26-man roster and could push for the starting job at third base, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Ernie Clement is the nominal favorite to be in the Opening Day lineup at the hot corner, but Martinez is the player that offers the most upside at the position for the Blue Jays. The 23-year-old is coming off a bumpy 2024 campaign that included an 80-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy, but over 74 games at Triple-A Buffalo he slashed .267/.346/.523 with 17 homers. Martinez's most likely route to the Opening Day roster is on the bench, bouncing between second base and third base in a short-side platoon role, but the young slugger could quickly force his way into a more prominent spot if he begins flashing his power in the majors and can provide at least adequate defense at third.

Rojas (sports hernia) will start at third base and bat sixth versus the Cubs on Friday in his Cactus League debut, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Rojas underwent sports hernia surgery early in the offseason and developed an infection that extended his recovery timeline. While he was slightly behind other Dodgers position players at the start of camp, it appears he's now all caught up. Rojas is projected to serve as a reserve infielder this season.

Volpe is scheduled to start Friday in the Yankees' Grapefruit League opener versus the Rays, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Aside from catcher Austin Wells, right fielder Aaron Judge and injured designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (elbow), the Yankees are expected to roll out a starting nine of their projected Opening Day starters in the first game of the exhibition slate. Volpe's placement in the lineup will be one to watch throughout the spring, as he had served as the Yankees' primary leadoff man leading up to the All-Star break last season before slotting between the fifth and ninth spot throughout the second half while Gleyber Torres ultimately took over as the team's table setter. Torres and last season's No. 2 hitter, Juan Soto, have since moved elsewhere in free agency, but their departures won't necessarily clear the way for Volpe to reclaim a spot atop the lineup. While Volpe offers excellent speed in the leadoff role, his .288 on-base percentage over 319 career games has made him a less palatable option. He'll at least be heading into the spring with some momentum following a strong playoff run this past fall in which he produced a .286/.407/.408 slash line to go with five steals in five attempts over 14 games, but Volpe will need to build off that small sample during the Grapefruit League to secure a prominent spot in the batting order.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Thursday that Shaw (oblique) is "doing great" and has resumed hitting in the batting cage and throwing, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Shaw suffered an oblique injury at the beginning of camp but has been trending in the right direction since then. The Cubs will continue to tread cautiously given the finicky nature of oblique injuries, but it would seem Shaw might not be far off from full activities. The top prospect is the favorite to be the Cubs' Opening Day third baseman.

Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said Tuesday that "nothing has changed" regarding the organization's plans for Lawlar after the team signed starting shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to a four-year extension earlier this week, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports. "When [he] is ready to be on this team, Lawlar's gonna be on this team," Hazen said.

Like Perdomo, Lawlar primarily plays shortstop, but both players are capable of playing second base and third base and could maintain everyday roles once the latter is deemed ready to return to the big leagues. After reaching the majors in 2023 and appearing in 14 games, Lawlar had been expected to push for a full-time job with the big club in 2024, but a spring thumb injury followed by a hamstring limited him to 23 games, all of which came in the minors. Lawlar is fully healthy and part of big-league camp this spring, and though regular at-bats in the majors wouldn't appear to be available heading into Opening Day, Hazen didn't dismiss the possibility of the 22-year-old making the Diamondbacks' 26-man active roster as a utility infielder if he proves during camp that he's one of the top 13 position players in the organization. Even so, the likelier outcome is that Lawlar opens the season at Triple-A Reno.

Rojas (sports hernia) took live batting practice against Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki during Wednesday's full-squad workout, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

In addition, Rojas took part in defensive drills Wednesday, per DodgersNation.com. Rojas disclosed Feb. 1 that he underwent sports hernia surgery early in the offseason and developed an infection that lengthened his recovery timeline, but he said he was "pretty close to 100 percent" heading into spring training, according to MLB.com. His ability to take part in live hitting and fielding work Wednesday backs up that assessment, though it's unclear whether Rojas will immediately play in Cactus League games when the Dodgers open their exhibition schedule Thursday. In any case, Rojas doesn't look to be in any danger of missing the Dodgers' season-opening series versus the Cubs in Tokyo, which begins March 18.

Sweeney said he's made some "minor swing changes" since the end of last season to hit MLB fastballs better, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Sweeney seems focused on timing and working to catch up to fastballs better at the MLB level. He had a .245 average and a 19.8 percent whiff rate against the pitch last year, and all four of his home runs came off of breaking balls. Sweeney could be Detroit's Opening Day shortstop, though veteran Javier Baez (hip) is looming as competition as he gets back to full strength. However, Sweeney could parlay a strong start to the year into some job security.

Manager Rob Thomson said last week that he's considering moving Kyle Schwarber down to third or fourth in the Phillies' everyday lineup this season, potentially clearing the way for Turner to serve as the club's primary leadoff hitter, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

In 2024, Schwarber started 149 of the Phillies' 162 games out of the leadoff spot, with Bryson Stott (10 starts) and Whit Merrifield (three) setting the table in the other 13 contests. Merrifield wasn't re-signed in free agency, and Stott doesn't appear to be an ideal candidate to slot in atop the lineup when the Phillies are at full strength since it would create an imbalance atop the batting order with three lefties (Stott, Schwarber and Bryce Harper) in the first four spots. With Thomson having acknowledged after the past season, during Winter Meetings and last week that he feels Schwarber's power production would be better served in the No. 3 or 4 spot behind Harper, Turner represents the most logical candidate to fill the void atop the lineup. Turner batted exclusively out of the two-hole in 2024, but he made 15 starts out of the leadoff spot during the 2023 campaign and saw plenty of usage atop the order during his stints with the Nationals and Dodgers earlier in his career. A move to the leadoff spot could open up increased running opportunities for Turner, whose 19 steals in 2024 were his fewest in a season since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Made arrived at the Brewers complex in Arizona in mid-January, Jesus Cano of Baseball America reports.

Made, who was ranked as a top-25 prospect by several outlets before stepping foot in the United States for the first time in January, said through a translator that he felt comfortable and that it's been an amazing experience getting to know his teammates. There has never been a prospect this highly regarded after only playing in the Dominican Summer League, but it's because Made's advanced data is special, as is his athleticism and long-term physical projection. Nobody should be surprised if he's the No. 1 prospect in baseball a year from now, but it's also worth noting that he doesn't turn 18 until May, so it's hard to say how everything will translate with the big jump in competition after he presumably gets assigned to Single-A.