MLB Player News

Beaty's chances of making the Opening Day roster are likely to improve if the 2020 campaign is played, Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports.

Beaty was already a strong contender for a roster spot prior to the suspension of play, but his chance of breaking camp with the big club would increase further with an abbreviated season and the probability of expanded rosters. Such a scenario could allow both Beaty and Edwin Rios -- whom Beaty was rumored to be battling for the final roster spot -- to make the squad in reserve roles.

Arias is expected to be added to the Padres' 40-man roster following the 2020 season, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Arias is likely to open the campaign at the Double-A level after slashing .302/.339/.470 with High-A Lake Elsinore last season. His age (he recently turned 20) and strong defense add to his attractiveness as a prospect, so the Padres will likely find a place for him on the 40-man roster during the next offseason as long as he continues on his current trajectory and is not traded elsewhere. While Arias has the range and plus-plus arm to excel at shortstop, Fernando Tatis seems to have locked down that position in San Diego for the foreseeable future.

Goldschmidt (elbow) has been getting preventative care and treatment at the Cardinals' spring training facility, Laurie Skrivan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

He has remained in Florida with his family during the pandemic and eased back his workouts when baseball officially stopped, taking "a longer-term view." His elbow soreness is apparently still serious enough that he has needed to keep getting treatment, but Goldschmidt said he could be ready for games whenever things resume, so it sounds like an issue he will simply have to play through. When he doesn't want to stress his elbow, he has been using virtual reality technology to track pitches and revisit past at-bats.

Beaty has been working on his hand-eye coordination by swinging at pinto beans with teammate Edwin Rios, he stated in an interview with David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports.

Beaty and Rios have remained in Arizona during the suspension of play, rooming together in an apartment that provides little space for traditional baseball workouts. As such, they have taken to unique methods for staying sharp as they await word on when the MLB season may resume. Beaty also noted that he and Rios have been taking part in strength and cardio workouts using equipment set up in their garage. Interestingly, the pair are in competition with each other for one of the final spots on the Dodgers' Opening Day roster.

Votto blamed his subpar 2019 on mechanics and process, trying to chase his 2017 results in part because he didn't get the desired results in 2018, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer (via a segment on MLB Network with Brian Kenny) reports.

Votto said that the drop in homers from 36 in 2017 to 12 in 2018 disturbed his approach at the plate, but it shouldn't have. "In '19, I was really bent out of shape going from hitting 36 home runs to 12 home runs (in 2018). I viewed the year as a failure. But looking at my Statcast data, it was an unlucky season. I was a really productive hitter using relatively predictive data." Watch the full segment with Votto and Kenny -- it's really enlightening.

Beaty spent much of the offseason working on his quickness, Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider reports.

His desire to be quicker is likely related to the team's desire for a left-handed backup at third base. Beaty's ability to fill that role has given him the "inside track" for a roster spot according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, but a lackluster spring at the plate prevented him from cementing a place on the big-league club prior to the suspension of spring training. Edwin Rios appears to be Beaty's primary competition for one of the final spots on the Opening Day roster.

Although new manager Derek Shelton hasn't revealed his preferred lineup, Bell is expected to bat cleanup for the Pirates in 2020, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

With No. 3 hitter Starling Marte traded to Arizona, the team will likely turn to Adam Frazier, Kevin Newman or Gregory Polanco to bat ahead of Bell. After a red-hot start to 2019, Bell hit just .232/.342/.476 with 19 homers in his final 371 plate appearances. The switch hitter's splits against left-handed pitching were disappointing -- he slashed just .224/.313/.448 with nine homers in 166 plate appearances. Against right-handers, however, he batted .297/.387/.615 with 32 doubles and 28 homers in 384 PA. He may get pitched around, given that Polanco, Colin Moran and Jose Osuna are likely candidates to bat fifth. As Pittsburgh's only bona fide power hitter, the organization will be counting upon Bell to produce big numbers in 2020.

Rizzo said he enjoys playing in Chicago and would like to stay with the Cubs beyond 2020, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

The team picked up Rizzo's $16.5 million 2020 club option back in November, and it can do so one more time next year if it wants. The slugging first baseman said he wants to stay in Chicago long term, but he also called the business side of baseball "as cutthroat as ever" in January when the Cubs shut down contract extension talks. Rizzo has been a cornerstone player for the Cubs since 2012, but if the team gets off to a sluggish start when the 2020 season is able to resume, management could begin to move some bigger pieces as part of a rebuild.

Bohm spent his offseason working on his defense, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The offseason work didn't necessarily yield results this spring, as Bohm committed errors on two of his 10 chances in Grapefruit League action. The Phillies need him to be a viable third baseman, as Rhys Hoskins projects to occupy first base for the foreseeable future. Bohm has yet to reach the Triple-A level, though he may not spend much time there this season, especially if a shortened schedule causes the Phillies to promote their top prospects early as they push to end their playoff drought.

Solano was likely on track to make San Francisco's 26-man roster when spring training was suspended, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Solano apparently holds the edge over Yolmer Sanchez, who, as a non-roster invitee, was hitting just .115 (3-for-26) with zero extra-base hits before camp was put on hold. While Solano has an option remaining, he went 8-for-21 in spring and hit .330 across 81 games with San Francisco in 2019.