MLB Player News

Abreu believes the White Sox will be competing for a playoff spot in 2020, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Abreu has spent six seasons with the White Sox, who have finished no better than third (in 2019) in the AL Central and never made the playoffs during his tenure. After the development of young prospects into stars and offseason acquisitions, the expectations for the team are huge in 2020. "The expectations are high with this team, and every Sox fan should be excited because we have a good team,'' Abreu said. ''It's time for us to start competing and to be one of the teams fighting for a playoff spot." Abreu has been remarkably consistent over his first six MLB seasons and, thanks to a better supporting cast, jumped up to a career- and AL-high 123 RBI in 2019. He'll have an even stronger group surrounding him in 2020. Abreu will return as the starting first baseman and bat third with any number of reputable hitters to protect him in the batting order.

Hoskins hit a decent .241/.371/.483 in 12 Grapefruit League games before play was suspended, but he also struck out at a 40 percent clip.

The slugger owns a career 23.4 percent strikeout rate in 363 big-league games, a perfectly respectable mark for a power hitter, so it's possible his spring struggles in that area were nothing more than a small-sample blip. Either way, Hoskins faces some questions about his value this season, as his slugging percentage dropped from .496 to .454 last year despite league-wide power increasing. His expected slugging percentage according to Statcast came to just .426, suggesting that even his mediocre showing was an overachievement.

Alonso and the Mets agreed to a one-year contract worth over $652,000 on Wednesday, an MLB record for a player heading into his second season, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Players have no bargaining power before they reach their arbitration years, so the club giving Alonso anything more than the league minimum of $563,500 was essentially a show of gratitude for his exploits as a rookie. The 25-year-old hasn't found his timing at the plate yet this spring -- he's hitting only .243 (9-for-37) without a homer -- but Alonso still has a couple weeks to round into form before Opening Day.

Freeman (personal) is expected to re-enter the Braves' Grapefruit League lineup Friday versus the Mets, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Freeman left the team Tuesday to tend to a family issue, but he looks like he'll only need a few days to address the matter. The missed time shouldn't impact his availability to get himself ready for Opening Day.

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Wednesday that Goldschmidt is dealing with right elbow soreness and will be out of the Grapefruit League lineup for at least "a couple of days," Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The Cardinals haven't yet indicated that Goldschmidt's injury is anything overly worrisome, but it's somewhat disconcerting that he's dealing with the same issue that already limited him earlier in camp. The first baseman will presumably be re-examined prior to the weekend before the Cardinals provide more clarity on his situation.

Freeman was a late scratch from Tuesday's lineup for what the team said was a family matter, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Ryan Casteel was inserted into the lineup batting third and playing first base. Freeman is expected to return to Wednesday's lineup against the Twins after attending to his family. The 30-year-old is likely to take a cautious approach during the rest of spring training after dealing with right elbow inflammation earlier this week.

Diaz has appeared in 10 Grapefruit League games to date, going 8-for-26 at the plate with two RBI and a 2:6 BB:K.

Diaz's best game of the spring came in his most recent appearance Monday, when he went 2-for-2 with a triple in a 2-2 tie with the Pirates. He served as the cleanup hitter against Pittsburgh righty Mitch Keller in a lineup consisting primarily of everyday players, so Diaz looks like he might have the opportunity to occupy a spot in the heart of the order once the regular season arrives.

The Rays optioned Padlo (illness) to Triple-A Durham on Monday.

Padlo wasn't available for the start of big-league camp while he dealt with severe headaches, but he's feeling better after having found proper medication to treat the condition. The missed time likely had no bearing on Padlo making the Opening Day roster, as he was always expected to begin the season at Triple-A. He was cleared last week to resume full baseball activities and should be ready to go when Durham opens its schedule April 9.

Wade is in the mix for the final spot on the 26-man roster along with Willians Astudillo and Jake Cave. Wade is hitting .313 (5-for-16) with a .914 OPS this spring.

Wade is likely a long shot to make the roster, but the Twins could keep both Jake Cave and Wade if Byron Buxton isn't ready to begin the season due to his recovery from shoulder surgery. Wade's ability to draw walks and play center field led to his callup for 26 games last season. But after hitting just .246/.392/.356 at Triple-A and .196/.348/.375 in the majors, he'll likely need to show more with his bat at Triple-A before getting an extended chance in the majors.

Raley was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

Raley got off to a hot start at the dish in spring games, but it wasn't enough to earn him a spot on the big-league roster to open the 2020 campaign. He'll begin the season at Triple-A, where he hit .302 with seven homers, 21 RBI and four stolen bases in 33 contests a year ago.