MLB Player News

Rodriguez signed a minor-league contract with the Indians on Monday.

Rodriguez is back with the Indians after spending time with the team's Double- and Triple-A affiliates in 2018, hitting a combined .228/.308/.416 with 15 homers in 107 games. The 24-year-old will report to minor-league camp and figures to open the 2019 campaign with Triple-A Columbus.

The Diamondbacks are expected to deploy Flores as their primary second baseman this season, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

Barring any major additions to the roster before the end of spring training, Flores, who inked a one-year, $4.25 million deal earlier this month, will have the best opportunity of his career to claim a full-time gig. Flores never exceeded 500 plate appearances during any of his six seasons with the Mets, despite providing near league-average production (.262/.303/.424 slash line, 99 wRC+) over his 2,011 plate appearances. Though the keystone is the one infield spot where Flores has seen his least MLB action to date, the Diamondbacks are apparently confident that with some further instruction during the spring, he can be a passable defender at the position. Arizona's addition of Flores likely means that Ketel Marte will vie for the team's top job in center field after logging most of his starts at second base in 2018.

Solano signed a minor-league contract with the Giants earlier in January, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

Solano owns a .257/.306/.331 slash line over 1,168 career big-league plate appearances. The 31-year-old infielder hasn't surfaced in the majors since 2016, however, and is most likely ticketed for Triple-A Sacramento once spring training ends.

Lowe is expected to earn an invitation to the Rays' big-league camp, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe isn't expected to compete for an Opening Day roster spot in camp, as he's appeared in just 28 games at Triple-A, but that won't stop the Rays from getting a look at the youngster against major-league pitching. The 23-year-old climbed from High-A Charlotte to Triple-A Durham over the course of the 2018 campaign, slashing a combined .330/.416/.568 with 27 homers and 102 RBI across all three stops (130 games). If Lowe is able to hold his own against Triple-A pitching to begin the 2019 season, he could make his big-league debut sometime over the summer.

Bell, who will be looking to rebound from a disappointing 2018 campaign, changed his offseason routine and also met with new hitting coach, Rick Eckstein, in December.

He hit 26 home runs with 90 RBI as a rookie in 2017, but slumped to 12 homers and 62 RBI last year. The first baseman believes he's rediscovered what made him successful two seasons ago. "It was just going back to that mentality in Triple-A, using that left-center-field gap to my advantage instead of thinking of that short porch there in right field," Bell said. The switch hitter slashed .301/.427/.534 with four homers in his final 89 plate appearances in 2018. With David Freese no longer around to take starts away from him at first base, Pittsburgh will give Bell every chance to prove his rookie season wasn't a fluke.

Abreu will split time at first base and DH along with Yonder Alonso this season, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Manager Rick Renteria said he's had "extensive" talks with both players about splitting time at the two positions, and Abreu is open to the idea. "What matters the most is how we can make the team better," said Abreu. "If I'm first base or DH, or he's playing first base, it doesn't matter. It matters how we can make the team better." The White Sox traded for Alonso earlier in the offseason, which now looks like an insurance plan for the soon-to-be-32-year-old Abreu, who played a career-low 128 games in 2018, when he underwent groin surgery and had a thigh infection that ended his season early. More days at DH means more games for Abreu the hitter, and that's good for fantasy owners.

The Blue Jays announced Saturday that Guerrero will be one of 15 non-roster invitees to big-league spring training, John Lott of The Athletic reports.

The development doesn't come as a surprise given Guerrero's status as the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball entering the 2019 season. After tearing through Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo last season, Guerrero seemingly has nothing more to prove in the minors, though there's a good possibility he'll be dispatched to the International League to begin the upcoming campaign as the Blue Jays look to delay his MLB service clock. Much like how the Braves proceeded with Ronald Acuna a season ago, Guerrero projects to make his Blue Jays debut at some point before the end of April.

Kirilloff was extended an invitation to major-league spring training, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Kirilloff split the 2018 season between Low-A Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers, slashing .348/.392/.578 with 20 home runs in 130 games. The 21-year-old is likely to begin the 2019 season at Double-A Chattanooga given his success at Fort Myers, but will have a chance to showcase himself with the big club at spring training.

White was invited to major-league spring training Thursday, TJ Cotterill of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

The 22-year-old spent nearly all of the 2018 campaign with High-A Modesto, slashing an excellent .303/.375/.458 to go with 11 homers and 66 RBI in 538 plate appearances. White will now get a chance to strut his stuff in front of the major-league coaching staff, though he'll likely spend the bulk of the 2019 season at Double-A after given his limited experience facing pitchers in the upper levels of the minors.

Cabrera signed a one-year deal with the Rangers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Cabrera has been a steady but unspectacular bat for the last several years, posting a wRC+ between 104 and 120 for four straight campaigns. Those numbers were more impressive when he was more able to play a middle-infield position, but he's expected to be a third baseman in Texas. The hitter-friendly home park should prop up his numbers and make him an interesting deep-league option, though at 33, age-related decline can't be ruled out.