MLB Player News

Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said Friday that Guerrero will open the 2018 season at Double-A New Hampshire, TSN.ca reports.

He'll be joined in the Eastern League by Bo Bichette, giving New Hampshire the most highly regarded pair of hitting prospects of any affiliate across the minors. Guerrero offers the higher ceiling of the two players due to his exceptional hit tool and raw power, which should make him a bankable source of both batting average and home-run production from the corner infield once he reaches his peak. Before reporting to New Hampshire ahead of his second year of full-season ball, the 19-year-old is scheduled to appear in exhibition games Monday and Tuesday with the Blue Jays in Montreal, the old stomping grounds of his Hall-of-Fame father.

Abreu (hamstring) started at first base, played three innings and went 1-for-2 in Sunday's Cactus League finale.

Abreu sustained an injury to his right hamstring last Tuesday, which was considered a mild strain, but the White Sox held him out since then as a precaution. The first baseman and middle-of-the-order bat should be ready to go for Thursday's opener against the Royals in Kansas City.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday that there is "potential" that Gurriel (hand) will avoid a stint on the disabled list to begin the season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Hinch's comments came after Gurriel took batting practice against a high-velocity machine Sunday, with the first baseman showing no ill effects from the left hand surgery he required four weeks earlier. Gurriel displayed good driving power during the session and indicated he continues to feel better with each passing day, creating hope that a multi-week absence may not be in store. While the Astros will head back to Texas following Sunday's Grapefruit League finale, Gurriel will remain in Florida and participate in minor-league or simulated games at some point this week. The Astros may wait and see how Gurriel responds to that activity before determining whether or not a DL stint is necessary, but regardless of the team's decision, the first baseman will still have to serve a five-game suspension stemming from the inappropriate gesture he made toward Yu Darvish in the World Series last fall.

Cron, who's hitting .298 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 50 spring plate appearances, will log many of his starts against left-handed pitching this season, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "Yeah, it's going to be a lot of left-right," Cash said. "But saying that, we know that we really value getting C.J. in there a lot. We will have plenty of opportunities where C.J. will play against some righties. Brad [Miller] is going to play, obviously, against righties."

Manager Kevin Cash has a potentially good problem brewing at first base, as both Cron and Miller have proven to be above-average hitters at different points in their respective careers. Notably, both are coming off career-low batting averages in 2017, and Miller still appears to be stuck in a bit of a funk (.222 spring average over 19 plate appearances). The schedule works out well early with respect to projected playing time for Cron, as the Rays are slated to face several southpaws through the first two series. Ultimately, the workload split likely projects as somewhat of a fluid situation in the coming season, with the designated hitter role also an option for getting both players into the lineup simultaneously.

Gurriel (hand) took live batting practice Friday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel is working his way back from late-February surgery to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand. Original reports said that he should be back in five or six weeks, which would make him ready to play in mid-April -- though he's also set to miss five games due to a suspension. Manager A.J. Hinch now says that it's unknown whether or not Gurriel will begin the season on the disabled list, and that a decision may not come until the day before the season starts. There haven't been any reports that the 33-year-old is ahead of schedule, though, so the decision appears likely to be made in favor of a trip to the DL.

Joseph was optioned to Double-A Frisco on Friday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Joseph was recently claimed off waivers by the Rangers on Monday and will head to the minors in order to get some regular at-bats. The 26-year-old appeared in 142 games for Philadelphia last season, hitting .240 with 22 home runs and 69 RBI. With Joey Gallo set to man first base, Joseph is unlikely to see regular time in 2018 but should be ready to return to the majors in the near future.

Abreu (hamstring) remains out of the lineup for Friday's Cactus League game and will instead participate in a full workout, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Abreu commented on his status by saying that he is ready to resume playing immediately and that he would ask manager Rick Renteria about his availability for Saturday's outing. All things considered, it appears as though Abreu is close to 100 percent and should be fully operational heading into Opening Day.

Abreu (hamstring) is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Abreu was removed from a game earlier this week with left hamstring tightness. He's been pushing to get back in the lineup, but manager Rick Renteria is taking a prudent approach by giving the first baseman several days off.

O'Hearn was reassigned to minor-league camp Wednesday, Maria Torres of The Kansas City Star reports.

The 24-year-old was initially brought up in the conversation for the Royals' starting gig at first base, but the signing of Lucas Duda earlier this spring largely ended those talks. O'Hearn will now head back to Triple-A Omaha to start the season. He batted .252 with 18 homers in 114 games at that level last season.

Abreu (hamstring) hopes to be back in game action Friday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Abreu left Tuesday's game against the Rangers with hamstring tightness, but the issue appears to be minor. If the 29-year-old slugger can indeed return Friday, there will be little doubt that he'll be fine by Opening Day.