MLB Player News

Hague has been told he won't make Minnesota's final 25-man roster, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Hague has had a good spring as he's hitting .359, but he'll need to prove himself in the minors after producing a .685 OPS with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan last year.

Gillaspie was reassigned to minor league camp Thursday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Gillaspie smacked three homers over 40 spring at-bats but hit only .200 and counted two doubles as his only other extra-base hits over that span. The 2014 first-round pick will look to improve on what was an excellent 203-plate appearance stint at Triple-A Durham in 2016 that included a .307/.389/.520 line.

Santana is 2-for-6 with a strikeout in his first two Cactus League games since returning from the WBC.

Santana entertained on the world stage by hitting .308 (8-for-26) with a pair of doubles, three RBI and two runs scored for the Dominican Republic. Fantasy owners will hope for carry-over results similar to the ones he displayed coming off his previous WBC. Following the 2013 tournament, the slugger opened the MLB regular season by hitting .389 in April. A slight regression from 2016's career year should be expected, but even so, Santana brings plenty of value across all formats.

Diaz has been working on the back fields at the Indians' complex with third-base coach and infield instructor Mike Sarbaugh, like a student cramming for an exam, to earn an Opening Day roster spot as a third baseman, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

With Jason Kipnis (shoulder) likely to miss the beginning of the season, starting third baseman Jose Ramirez may be pushed across the diamond to fill the hole. Diaz is looking to capitalize on that potential opening at the hot corner to ensure his place on the 25-man roster. As a member of the Rockies' organization in 2015, the 25-year-old played 126 minor-league games at third base. However, Diaz played a majority of his 103 games last year at Triple-A in the outfield. It's widely believed that the Cuban native can hold his own in the box against MLB pitchers -- he owns a career .307/.403/.410 slash line while displaying good plate discipline over 1222 at-bats in the minors -- but the Tribe have other options to temporarily hold down third base if Diaz proves to be a defensive liability.

With Luis Valbuena (hamstring) heading for an MRI on Thursday, Cron's chances of becoming the Angels' starter at first base increase, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Both veteran sluggers have been battling for playing time all spring, with neither taking a significant lead at any point. Even though Valbuena's hamstring injury wasn't considered serious at first, the timing of it should lead to Cron winning the job outright. The 27-year-old is slashing .340/.393/.640 in 54 spring training plate appearances after posting career-best numbers in 2016 (.278 with 16 homers and 69 RBI over 116 games). This news bumps his value up, as regular at-bats to start the year could lead to some cheap power numbers.

Gurriel hit a first-inning, three-run homer and later doubled in Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Gurriel has had a quiet camp before flexing his muscles the last two days, going 4-for-6 with two homers, two doubles and four RBI. It's an encouraging sign that he'll be able to handle the transition to a new defensive position without reducing the impact of his bat.

Gurriel went 2-for-3 with his first spring home run in Tuesday's game against the Marlins.

Gurriel will be Houston's starting first baseman, but he may not be the prototypical one that hits 25-30 homers. The 32-year-old hit just three in 36 games for Houston in 2016, which projects out to 14 over a 162-game season. That's a pretty simplistic metric with which to evaluate his power, but his home run totals were on the decline in Cuba. He's also learning a new defensive position, which could be a hindrance to a player's offense. We're not recommending you completely avoid Gurriel, but understand we need to see him play more regularly in the States.

O'Hearn was reassigned to the Royals' minor league camp Monday, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.

An unheralded eighth-round draft pick in 2014, O'Hearn has emerged as a top-10 prospect in the Royals system thanks to his excellent power. He combined to smack 22 homers across High-A Wilmington and Double-A Northwest Arkansas last season, but endured more struggles at the latter stop, as his ISO dropped nearly 140 points. The 23-year-old will likely head back to Northwest Arkansas to begin the 2017 season, with improving his plate discipline representing his chief goal.

Manager John Gibbons said Monday that Tellez will report to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the season, Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports.

Tellez impressed the Blue Jays' brass with his strong plate discipline during spring training, but the 22-year-old didn't warrant any serious attention for an Opening Day roster spot, despite the team's lack of depth at first base. After a breakout season at Double-A New Hampshire in which he swatted 23 homers, Tellez will have to prove the power he displayed wasn't a fluke while moving up to Triple-A, but his existing contact skills should at least give him a decent floor once he matriculates to the majors.

Singleton has been reassigned to minor league camp, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.

Singleton was 4-for-21 at the plate during Grapefruit League play, scoring three runs and driving in two during what will end up being a short spring. The next step for the 25-year-old, who was removed from the team's 40-man roster in April, remains to be seen. Singleton should still get some run at Triple-A Fresno, but after hitting just .202 and striking out at a 24.8 percent clip last year, he'll need to quickly turn things around in order to even keep his job there.