MLB Player News

Olson is one of the primary candidates for the No. 3 spot in the batting order during the regular season, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "I'm fine with anywhere, but I'm pretty comfortable in the third spot," Olson said before going 0-for-2 with a walk in the Athletics' 11-2 loss to Milwaukee. "Growing up, that's where I hit, and even in the minors I was there a lot with Renato Nunez hitting behind me. It should be nice to have KD [Khris Davis] behind me and maybe get more pitches to hit."

Jed Lowrie saw an appreciable boost in production while logging 653 plate appearances out of the No. 3 hole last season, slashing .275/.361/.461 with 59 extra-base hits (35 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs) and 96 RBI in that slot alone. With Lowrie now a Met, Olson is a fitting candidate to slide into that spot after making just 17 plate appearances there in 2018. The 24-year-old racked up 84 RBI last season while hitting behind Davis in the lineup, but as he noted, Davis often did a good job clearing the bases ahead of Olson while driving in a career-high 123 runs. Manager Bob Melvin will likely continue to evaluate different scenarios ahead of the team's season opener March 20 in Japan versus the Mariners, and Slusser also notes that Stephen Piscotty, who's hit third for most of spring, would likely see his fair share of time there over the course of the season versus right-handed starters.

Cronenworth went 2-for-2 with a triple, a solo home run and two runs overall in a 17-15 Grapefruit League loss to the Orioles on Saturday.

The 25-year-old shortstop entered the game for Daniel Robertson in the top of the sixth, ripping his run-scoring three-bagger in his first at-bat before bringing the Rays to within one with his eighth-inning solo blast. Cronenworth is now hitting .357 overall across 14 spring at-bats, and he's likely headed to Triple-A Durham to open the season. Cronenworth got his first taste of game action at that level late last season, slashing .240/.269/.360 across a modest sample of 26 plate appearances. The shortstop position at the big-league level is in the capable hands of Willy Adames, so Cronenworth doesn't presently have a clear path to the majors.

Guerrero will be out at least three weeks with a left oblique strain, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The good news is that Guerrero was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain rather than a more severe muscle injury. The Blue Jays' top prospect, who turns 20 on March 16, was struggling this spring with a .211/.250/.316 slash line. Guerrero likely would have been ticketed for Triple-A Buffalo regardless of his spring results, as the organization looks to delay the start of his service clock. A return in early April appears to be the current goal, but a clearer recovery timetable should come into focus as the young slugger advances into his rehab work.

Mountcastle went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Saturday's spring win over Tampa Bay.

Mountcastle was seen going through drills at first base earlier in camp and got the starting nod there Saturday. The 22-year-old was previously a shortstop before transitioning to third base in 2018, but it appears the move to first is mostly about creating additional versatility. Mountcastle slashed .297/.341/.464 with 13 home runs at Double-A Bowie last season.

Wade went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and a strikeout in Saturday's spring game against the Pirates.

Wade struggled following his promotion to Triple-A Rochester in 2018 -- slashing .229/.337/.336 in 74 games -- but was still added to the Twins' 40-man roster in November to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. The 25-year-old could make his MLB debut at some point in 2019 but is likely to begin the season at Rochester.

Guerrero went 0-for-3 with a walk in Friday's split-squad game against the Pirates.

The weak performance was thrown into sharper relief when fellow top prospect Bo Bichette joined in a five-homer barrage with the other half of the roster. Guerrero is slashing only .211/.250/.316 without a home run this spring, giving the front office more cover when it inevitably decides to delay the start of his service clock by sending him back to Triple-A Buffalo. Don't be fooled by a small sample -- the 19-year-old's bat is big-league ready, and his stay in Buffalo to begin the season should be a brief one.

Kirilloff was reassigned to minor-league spring training Friday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Kirilloff hasn't played above High-A in his young career, so this move doesn't come as a surprise. He slashed .362/.393/.550 with seven home runs and 45 RBI over 65 games at High-A Fort Myers a season ago and could begin the 2019 campaign at Double-A Pensacola given his early success in the minors.

Raley went 2-for-3 with a triple, a double and four RBI in Thursday's spring game against Boston.

Raley drove in a pair in the second inning on a triple to right field, and he plated another run in the fourth on a double to left. His fourth RBI of the day would come in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly. Raley is now 5-for-18 with five RBI and a run scored this spring and could start the season at Triple-A Rochester given his prior success at Double-A. The former seventh-round pick slashed .275/.345/.477 with 17 homers and 53 RBI a year ago with Double-A Tulsa.

Manager Aaron Boone admitted Thursday that Voit and Greg Bird are likely battling for one roster spot this spring, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. "It's tough for me to envision us having two first basemen, especially when I feel like [DJ] LeMahieu would be that guy that gets backup reps there," Boone said.

Voit has some limited experience playing the corner outfield, but since he likely ranks as nothing more than an emergency option there, defense doesn't look like it will be a factor in the job battle between him and Bird. Instead, the competition will be decided based on how the two perform at the dish, with Voit's excellence after his late-August callup in 2018 presumably giving him the early edge over Bird, who has disappointed in his opportunities at the big-league level the past three seasons while also struggling with injuries. A healthy Bird has at least made things interesting this spring with a .400 average and four extra-base hits through his first seven contests, so Voit may need to keep pace to emerge as the victor. He's been able to do that so far, sporting a .308 average of his own with two home runs entering play Thursday.

White (hamstring) resumed batting practice Wednesday but does not yet have a firm timetable for a return to game action, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

White has performed well whenever he's been healthy enough to suit up this spring, hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a pair of doubles. However, the Mariners have emphasized the importance of patience to White in allowing the soft-tissue injury to heal, advice the promising prospect has heeded. White is likely to have a chance to return to Cactus League action prior to the end of spring and then start the season at Double-A Arkansas, and manager Scott Servais will remain an interested observer. "Evan has gotten a lot stronger and is driving the ball better," Servais said. "He's always hit the ball hard, but I think the fact he's getting the ball in the air more consistently, it played out at the end of last season for him when he hit a bunch of home runs and had a nice run the last month and a half. He'll get back in there in the next few days. I'm really looking for him to have that next step forward in his minor-league season this year, wherever that's at."