MLB Player News

Cron went 3-for-3 with a solo home run, two doubles and two runs in Tuesday's spring win over the Diamondbacks.

Cron got off to a slow start this spring, going just 1-for-13 with a single and six strikeouts across five games, but he had his way against Arizona in Tuesday's blowout win. Although the 31-year-old is in camp as a non-roster invitee, he has a good chance to carve out regular at-bats during the regular season. Josh Fuentes has also impressed at the plate and on defense while competing for the job at first base, but Fuentes can also play third base and left field, which should leave Cron with plenty of opportunities at first.

White is 1-for-10 with a double, a walk and two RBI across his first five Cactus League games.

White is once again ticketed for everyday duties at first base after logging 54 starts there as a rookie in 2020. The 24-year-old managed an anemic .176/.252/.346 line across his 202 plate appearances, but he displayed some promising pop by lacing 15 of his 32 hits for extra bases (seven doubles, eight home runs).

Goldschmidt is hitting .200 (2-for-10) with a double and two walks over his first five Grapefruit League games.

The veteran slugger picked up the two-bagger in Monday's tie with the Marlins but has otherwise been very quiet to start spring play. Goldschmidt posted an impressive .304/.417/.466 line across 230 plate appearances last season and could be set for a similarly successful 2021 with Nolan Arenado projected to hit directly behind him in the lineup.

Casas (undisclosed) rejoined the Red Sox for workouts Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Casas had been away for the team for about a week due to an undisclosed non-baseball medical issue, but he's apparently made a return to full health while also clearing all COVID-19 intake testing. The 21-year-old third baseman is expected to ramp up his activity gradually over the next few days before potentially getting the chance to play in a Grapefruit League game for Boston.

Votto is 4-for-9 with a walk to begin the season and has taken a different approach to spring training at-bats this season to help counter recent slow starts in previous seasons, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "Yeah, he looks different," manager David Bell said on Monday. "I know that he's intentionally made some changes, and I think it's showing up."

Votto in previous years would sometimes not swing at all in his first couple of spring training at-bats, but that hasn't been the case this spring. Votto is still going after pick 300 and after the 30th first baseman in most drafts. He's not a bad option to fill your last corner or utility spot as a potential source of profit.

Olson, who went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Sunday's Cactus League win over Cleveland, is now hitting .500 with three homers and eight RBI overall across four spring games.

Olson also has a two-bagger on his spring resume and has encouragingly struck out only twice, as the extensive work he put in on his hitting during the offseason is clearly paying early dividends. There's no concerns about the 26-year-old's prodigious power stroke, but a reduction in last season's career-worst 31.4 percent strikeout rate will be key to Olson's chances of significantly boosting last year's abysmal .195 average.

The Low-A St. Lucie Mets announced Monday that Joseph has been named the team's hitting coach, signaling the end of his playing career.

Joseph's transition into coaching will mark the end of a 12-year professional career that began in 2009, when he was a second-round selection of the Giants. He ended up spending two seasons in the big leagues with Philadelphia, slashing .247/.297/.460 with 43 home runs in 880 plate appearances. In addition to his stints in the Giants and Phillies organizations, the 29-year-old also saw minor-league action with the Rangers and Red Sox.

Lowe started at first base and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Sunday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Lowe is the presumed starter at first base after the Rangers acquired him from Tampa Bay during the offseason, but he's fallen behind Ronald Guzman in terms of spring production. Lowe is 1-for-9 (hitless in last eight ABs) with five strikeouts, while Guzman is 4-for-7 with two home runs, two RBI and two walks. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com has gone as far as projecting Guzman as the Opening Day starter at first base.

Cabrera started at third base and went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in Sunday's spring game against the Cubs.

Cabrera has appeared in four spring games, starting at third base three times and second base once. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo projected a role against left-handers for the veteran infielder, most likely at third base. He's 1-for-9 with a run scored and an RBI thus far in Cactus League play.

Clemens is a candidate to begin his season at Triple-A Toledo and could also spend time at the Tigers' reinstated alternate training site, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Clemens spent just 13 games at Double-A Erie back in 2019, but the team has reportedly been impressed with his work the last two spring trainings, so he could make the jump to Toledo. The organization will also get the chance to send players to an alternate training site early in the season, as the start of the Triple-A season was recently bumped back from April to May. Clemens could find himself in that group and has a shot to emerge as an in-season callup for the Tigers.