MLB Player News

Shaw was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Monday.

Shaw seemed to be competing for a regular role this spring, but he won't get the chance to make an impression at the big-league level right away. He'll head back to prove himself at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .273/.317/.516 slash line with a worryingly high 32.0 percent strikeout rate over 189 games.

Lowe entered Sunday's 8-1 Grapefruit League win over the Red Sox as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, hitting a solo home run and drawing a walk in his two plate appearances.

Lowe only has three hits over 28 spring at-bats, but two of them have left the yard. The 23-year-old, who profiles as RotoWire's No. 3 prospect in the Rays organization, projects to open the season at Triple-A Durham after getting his initial taste of action there during the latter portion of 2018. Lowe slashed .260/.327/.460 across 110 plate appearances with the Bulls, impressive numbers when considering Lowe had opened the season two levels lower at High-A Charlotte.

Bour (knee) is starting at first base and hitting second Monday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

He was scratched from Sunday's lineup with right knee soreness, but it was apparently a very minor issue.

The Dodgers optioned Beaty to their minor-league camp Sunday, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Beaty was one of five position players sent packing as the Dodgers reduced their contingent at big-league camp to 50 men. The 25-year-old first baseman is expected to open the 2019 campaign at Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he slashed .277/.378/.406 across 120 plate appearances last season.

White (hamstring) went 0-for-2 in Sunday's game against Cleveland.

White rested his hamstring for a few days after experiencing some soreness, but he managed to get two at-bats in Sunday's exhibition, although he failed to get on base. The 22-year-old prospect is now 4-for-14 with an RBI and a run scored so far this spring, and the Mariners are optimistic he's put the hamstring issue behind him.

Tellez went 3-for-3 with two home runs and five RBI in Sunday's game against Minnesota.

Tellez launched a three-run homer in the first inning and belted a two-run home run in the sixth over the wall in left. Following Sunday's impressive display of power, he's 10-for-30 with three homers, eight RBI and five runs scored this spring.

Bour was a late scratch for Sunday's spring game against the Mariners due to right knee soreness, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Bour was set to serve as the designated hitter Sunday but will instead be forced to sit out. The severity of the issue remains unclear, but it wouldn't be surprising for the 30-year-old to at least be held out through Tuesday's off-day.

Olson is one of the primary candidates for the No. 3 spot in the batting order during the regular season, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "I'm fine with anywhere, but I'm pretty comfortable in the third spot," Olson said before going 0-for-2 with a walk in the Athletics' 11-2 loss to Milwaukee. "Growing up, that's where I hit, and even in the minors I was there a lot with Renato Nunez hitting behind me. It should be nice to have KD [Khris Davis] behind me and maybe get more pitches to hit."

Jed Lowrie saw an appreciable boost in production while logging 653 plate appearances out of the No. 3 hole last season, slashing .275/.361/.461 with 59 extra-base hits (35 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs) and 96 RBI in that slot alone. With Lowrie now a Met, Olson is a fitting candidate to slide into that spot after making just 17 plate appearances there in 2018. The 24-year-old racked up 84 RBI last season while hitting behind Davis in the lineup, but as he noted, Davis often did a good job clearing the bases ahead of Olson while driving in a career-high 123 runs. Manager Bob Melvin will likely continue to evaluate different scenarios ahead of the team's season opener March 20 in Japan versus the Mariners, and Slusser also notes that Stephen Piscotty, who's hit third for most of spring, would likely see his fair share of time there over the course of the season versus right-handed starters.

Cronenworth went 2-for-2 with a triple, a solo home run and two runs overall in a 17-15 Grapefruit League loss to the Orioles on Saturday.

The 25-year-old shortstop entered the game for Daniel Robertson in the top of the sixth, ripping his run-scoring three-bagger in his first at-bat before bringing the Rays to within one with his eighth-inning solo blast. Cronenworth is now hitting .357 overall across 14 spring at-bats, and he's likely headed to Triple-A Durham to open the season. Cronenworth got his first taste of game action at that level late last season, slashing .240/.269/.360 across a modest sample of 26 plate appearances. The shortstop position at the big-league level is in the capable hands of Willy Adames, so Cronenworth doesn't presently have a clear path to the majors.

Alonso has impressed Mets manager Mickey Callaway with his all-around game and maturity this spring, Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News reports.

The 24-year-old has been as advertised at the plate, crushing his third homer of the spring over the replica Green Monster at the Red Sox's facility Saturday to push his slash line to .423/.464/.885 through nine games, but the manager has been just as wowed by his defense and focus. "I kind of knew the offense was going to be somewhat special. So for me, the defense and how locked in to a game he is every day (is surprising)," Callaway said. "First base, you have to be locked in on every situation and he is very, very locked in. All the little things that it takes to be a quality major-league player, he's doing them on defense. That's probably been the most surprising thing." Dominic Smith is also having a big spring, potentially giving the Mets front office an out if it wants to send Alonso back to Triple-A for a few weeks to delay starting his service-time clock, but he's doing everything he can to prove he deserves a spot on the Opening Day roster.