MLB Player News

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."

Diaz (general soreness) went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a 9-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Twins on Tuesday.

Apparently refreshed after taking a couple of days off to shake off some typical spring soreness, Diaz responded with a sixth-inning home run off Trevor Hildenberger. It was the infielder's first blast of spring and third hit over 15 at-bats. Diaz once again manned the hot corner Tuesday in the ongoing absence of Matt Duffy (hamstring), but he's slated to spend plenty of time at first base once the regular season gets underway. Diaz raised expectations during his second major-league stint with the Indians in 2018, slashing .312/.375/.422 across 120 plate appearances.

Calhoun went 3-for-3 with a solo homer and an additional run scored in Tuesday's win over the Cubs.

Calhoun poked a pair of singles in his first two trips to the plate Tuesday, coming around to score his second time on base thanks to a Mike Trout homer. In his third at-bat, Calhoun took Rowan Wick deep to center field for his first Cactus League homer. The outfielder doubled his hit total this spring with Tuesday's three-hit effort; he's now 6-for-15 (.400) with a trio of extra-base hits through six games.

Dixon went 1-for-2 with a solo homer Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

Dixon struck out in his first at-bat before connecting for his second homer of spring in his next trip to the plate. The 27-year-old, who is competing for a spot on the Tigers' Opening Day roster as a reserve infielder, is now slashing .294/.350/.647 through eight games this spring.

White will be held out a day or two to rest his sore hamstring, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

White had previously missed a few days due to the issue, though he played Saturday against the Royals. He'll need more time to rest again, but the injury is still being referred to as "soreness," so it doesn't appear as if the organization expects the problem to be a major one.

Diaz (general soreness) is in the lineup for Tuesday's spring game against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Diaz will return to action after getting a couple days to rest and recover from whatever minor issue he has been dealing with of late. Diaz will play third base and hit cleanup for the Rays on Tuesday.

Cron went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI in Monday's 9-4 loss to Baltimore.

Cron belted his first two homers of the spring and is now 4-for-11 at the dish thus far. After being picked up off waivers by the Twins over the offseason, Cron is on track to open the 2019 regular season as Minnesota's everyday first baseman. He smacked a career-best 30 home runs over 140 games in 2018 with the Rays.

Tellez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

The blast was his first of the spring, and his first extra-base hit in 16 at-bats. Tellez has yet to catch fire in Florida, and he probably needs to make a good impression -- despite his huge September last season, the 23-year-old's not guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster with Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales locked into starting jobs at first base and DH.

Guerrero went 1-for-3 with his second double of the spring in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Getting the start at third base and hitting fifth, the phenom nearly put the ball out of the park with an easy one-handed swing that lit up social media. On the other hand, Rob Longley of The Toronto Sun reports that the Jays are now listing Vladito's weight at 250 pounds, and improving his fitness level is likely to be the focus of their organizational plan for him this season, as well as their PR efforts to justify not having him on the Opening Day roster. Whenever Guerrero makes his big-league debut, expect plenty more hitting highlights to follow.