MLB Player News

Flores had a .240/.296/.400 slash line with one home run in 10 games before the suspension of spring training.

The 28-year-old joined San Francisco on a two-year, $6 million deal in February after the Diamondbacks declined his club option earlier in the offseason despite him posting an .848 OPS in 89 games last season. Flores figures to split time at second base with Mauricio Dubon once play resumes, though both players should also work in a utility role.

Cronenworth is vying for 26th spot on the Padres' Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Cronenworth vaulted himself into contention for the team's final roster spot with a strong spring in which he posted a .320/.393/.400 slash line and a 3:4 BB:K. The 26-year-old's value is boosted by his ability to play three different infield positions as well as pitch. However, Cronenworth's chance of earning two-way status this season is impeded by MLB's requirement that he be carried against the Padres' 13-pitcher limit for part of the season while he accrues enough at-bats to qualify for the designation, per Kyle Glaser of Baseball America.

France is "among a handful of players" in competition for the final spot on the Padres' Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Though France put up a monster season at the Triple-A level last season, posting a .399/.477/.770 slash line with 27 home runs, he entered spring training needing a solid showing to break camp with the big-league club. The 25-year-old wasn't overly impressive in Cactus League play -- he batted .235, though all four of his hits went for extra bases -- but did enough to remain in the running for the Padres' 26th and final roster spot. Part of France's appeal lies in his versatility; he logged games at three different infield positions last season and spent time this spring honing his skills behind the plate.

Goldschmidt (elbow) hit .300 (6-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, five walks and three runs across nine Grapefruit League games before spring training was suspended.

Goldschmidt battled a sore elbow in the early stages of camp, an issue that could well clear up by the time a ramp-up to the regular season unfolds. The veteran slugger's penchant for hard contact and modest two strikeouts during the exhibition slate were.particularly encouraging when considering he whiffed a combined 339 times over the last two campaigns.

Cabrera remained in the mix for the starting third base spot when spring training was suspended.

The veteran infielder was seen as the insurance policy at the hot corner in case top prospect Carter Kieboom needed more development time in the minors, but that appeared to be the case when MLB went on hiatus, as Kieboom was struggling both at the plate -- hitting .233 with nine strikeouts in 30 at-bats -- and with his defense after moving over from shortstop. Cabrera wasn't doing any better offensively in camp, going 3-for-22 (.136) without an extra-base hit, but his 13-season track record in the majors and .969 OPS in 38 games for the Nats at the end of last season carry a lot more weight.

Beaty is competing with Edwin Rios for the final spot on the Dodgers' Opening Day roster, Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports.

While manager Dave Roberts has indicated that Beaty has the "inside track" for a roster spot due to his ability to play third base (per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com), both he and Rios remain in the running to break camp with the big-league squad. The competition may have narrowed due to Beaty's rough spring -- he hit only .190, though he did draw five walks -- and Rios' solid .296 batting average and six RBI in Cactus League play.

Walker batted fifth in one of the final Cactus League games before MLB was suspended, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

The lineup manager Torey Lovullo fielded Mar. 9 against the Royals looked like an Opening Day batting order. That lineup had the right-handed hitting Walker fifth behind lefty David Peralta and ahead of lefty Kole Calhoun. Lovullo may tweak the order so that he can alternate right-handed and left-handed batters, but Walker should be comfortable in the five hole. That's where he had his most plate appearances in 2019, when he took command of the first base job and swatted 29 home runs. The man he replaced at first base, Jake Lamb, had a good spring, but the job belongs to Walker right now and will be his whenever MLB opens its doors for the regular season.

Blandino got extra playing time in spring training as a result of Freddy Galvis's injuries, and hit .458/.536/.792 in 28 plate appearances. He's competing with Kyle Farmer to be the Reds' middle infield backup.

The Reds don't have a true shortstop beyond Galvis on the major-league roster, so they have to make due with what they'll get from either Blandino or Farmer as the backup until Jose Garcia is ready for the big leagues, which is probably a year away.

Smith could be squeezed off the Mets' 26-man roster if the delayed start to the regular season allows both Yoenis Cespedes (ankle) and Jed Lowrie (knee) to avoid the injured list.

When spring training started, Smith's bench spot seemed secure even after the offseason addition of Matt Adams, as both injured veterans seemed unlikely to be ready to play by the end of March. With Opening Day now pushed off into the future, however, Cespedes and Lowrie could get enough recovery time, giving the club some tough decisions. For his part, Smith wasn't doing much in camp to force his way onto the roster -- he'd gone 3-for-28 (.107) with zero extra-base hits and a 1:8 BB:K when the Grapefruit League schedule was put on pause.

Cooper is a candidate to platoon with Matt Joyce in right field once the regular season begins, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

The 29-year-old is facing competition from Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison and Harold Ramirez for the role. Cooper put up solid offensive numbers in 2019 when he was healthy, but the rebuilding Marlins may prefer to give a younger player like Brinson another chance to establish themselves.