MLB Player News

Volpe is working on flattening out his swing path, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Volpe had a flyball rate of 37.1 percent in his rookie season, which was down from the rates he regularly posted in the minors. The shortstop feels that a simplified, flatter swing will lead to more consistency after he went through peaks and valleys in 2023. Perhaps the changed approach will lower his home run ceiling, but if it makes him a better all-around hitter, both the Yankees and Volpe's fantasy managers will take it.

Grissom is dealing with a hamstring issue, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

It's not clear when Grissom suffered the injury, but the team considers it to be mild and doesn't expect it to affect the infielder's availability for Opening Day. The expectation is that Grissom will be ready to play in Grapefruit League games around March 1. He is projected to be Boston's everyday second baseman in 2024.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that he's eager to see Troy (foot) against major-league pitching early in camp, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Lovullo discussed what's piquing his interest during Cactus League play and mentioned bringing prospects over from minor-league camp, including Troy and Druw Jones, to get at-bats and innings. While Troy's injury was not mentioned, that the manager was talking about him playing suggests last year's first-round pick is healthy and ready to go for spring ball. At the time of his September foot surgery, the expectation was that he'd have a full offseason to prepare for spring training. The 22-year-old shortstop batted .271 with an .843 OPS and stole nine bases over 27 combined games between the Arizona Complex League and High-A Hillsboro.

Winn didn't participate in batting practice Wednesday and Thursday due to tightness in his upper body, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreports.

The 21-year-old still went through all other drills and could resume swinging as early as Friday, so the injury -- vague though it is -- doesn't appear to be a serious concern. Still, the Cardinals don't have much depth at shortstop with Winn and top backup Tommy Edman (wrist) banged up early in camp.

Bichette said Wednesday that he added pilates, swimming and Muay Thai to his offseason training regimen and has been pleased with his physical conditioning in the early stages of spring training, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

Specifically, Bichette said his pilates and Muay Thai workouts were targeted toward his right leg, after he missed 25 games in 2023 with right patellar tendinitis and a right quadricep strain. Bichette is hoping that the more holistic approach to his offseason training will yield better results in 2024, after both he and the Blue Jays offense as a whole fell a bit short of their lofty expectations heading into the past season. Even in what was considered a down year for Bichette, particularly in the running game -- he stole just five bags in eight attempts after nabbing 38 combined steals over the prior two campaigns -- the 25-year-old still finished with a .306 batting average and a .814 OPS, the fourth straight season in which he's cleared .800. Bichette batted primarily out of the two hole in 2023, but it's unclear if he'll remain in that spot or if he'll hit third or fourth, which he did over the Blue Jays' final four games of last season.

Angels manager Ron Washington said Thursday that Neto will bat ninth this season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Neto will have an opportunity to hit his way to a higher spot in the batting order over time, but for now he'll be stuck at the bottom. The 23-year-old shortstop slashed .225/.308/.377 with nine home runs and five stolen bases over 329 plate appearances during his rookie campaign in 2023.

Berti will slot back into a utility role since Tim Anderson signing with the Marlins on Thursday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Adding a shortstop this offseason always seemed to be the plan for Miami, as Berti would be a poor fit as the starter even after playing a career-high 64 games at the position in 2023. The 34-year-old has topped 400 plate appearances in each of the last two seasons while seeing time at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions, although in fantasy leagues with a 20-game threshold for qualification, he'll only be eligible at third and short to begin 2024. The bigger question for his value will be whether he can rebound on the basepaths -- after swiping 41 bags on 46 attempts in 2022, Berti failed to take advantage of the new rules last season and went just 16-for-22 on steal attempts despite maintaining an elite sprint speed (95th percentile).

Gauthier is listed as an available bench player Thursday in the Dodgers' Cactus League opener versus the Padres, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Gauthier didn't appear in any minor-league games after Sept. 14 last season due to a broken pinkie finger, but he arrived at spring training with no restrictions and is attending Dodgers camp as a non-roster invitee. The 24-year-old isn't a serious candidate for the Dodgers' Opening Day roster and is likely to be assigned to Double-A Tulsa or Triple-A Oklahoma City to begin the 2024 campaign. After a mid-season promotion from High-A Great Lakes, Gauthier slashed .293/.411/.433 with six home runs and 15 stolen bases in 392 plate appearances for Tulsa last year before being shut down with the finger injury.

Anderson agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the Marlins on Thursday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The fit is sensible, as the Marlins desperately needed a shortstop and Anderson was in need of a starting opportunity, which he likely hopes will allow him to show his dreadful 2023 season was an aberration. Prior to delivering a disastrous .245/.286/.296 slash line last year, Anderson had slashed .318/.347/.474 over his prior four campaigns. The 30-year-old will settle in as Miami's everyday shortstop, pushing Jon Berti back to a utility role.

Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said Tuesday that the plan is to play Rosario some at both middle infield positions as well as the corner outfield spots, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Neander also mentioned Rosario's ability to hit left-handed pitching, and there's a good chance much of the 28-year-old's playing time ultimately comes against southpaws. Jose Caballero is still expected to open the season as Tampa Bay's primary shortstop.