MLB Player News

Bour (back) was scratched from the Marlins' lineup for Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Bour experienced back spasms following Friday's game against the Red Sox and will get a fourth consecutive day off to rest up and recover. The Marlins haven't indicated that the injury is anything that will jeopardize Bour's availability for Opening Day, so his scratch looks precautionary more than anything else. Bour is slated to fill an everyday role and bat in the heart of the order for a new-look Miami lineup that bid adieu to its entire starting outfield (Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna) this offseason in addition to table setter Dee Gordon.

Duenez was sent to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Monday, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic Kansas City reports.

Duenez went 1-for-11 with one home run and three RBI through eight spring training games. He figures to start the season with the Royals' Double-A affiliate after a short stint at big-league camp.

Joseph was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Monday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Joseph was dropped from the Phillies' 40-man roster in order to make room for the signing of Jake Arrieta. While the 26-year-old has knocked 20-plus homers in each of the previous two seasons, his lackluster .240/.289/.432 line across 142 games in 2017 left something to be desired and he was ultimately deemed expendable following the offseason addition of Carlos Santana to handle everyday duties at first base. Joseph should garner some interest on waivers.

Hiura is 9-for-22 (.409) with a double and five RBI through 12 games with the Brewers this spring.

Hiura is doing nothing more than getting his feet wet this spring, but that has not stopped the 2017 first-rounder from making a strong impression in his first camp as a professional. Hiura will open the 2018 season somewhere in the Brewers' minor-league system and is likely to spend the entire year in the minors. but he is the team's top hitting prospect, and could get a chance to lay claim to the second-base job with the big club as soon as 2019.

Santana is hitting .200/.313/.240 with zero home runs and a 5:5 K:BB in 25 spring at-bats.

There's no cause for concern, as the sample size is tiny and Santana is showing off his famed approach even in the absence of notable production. Santana has been primarily hitting second for the Phillies during Grapefruit League play. If that trend continues into the regular season it would give him a pretty decent shot to finish near the top of his position in runs scored, to go with quality power-hitting statistics. He appears to be a pretty good value at his current NFBC ADP of 169.3 (since Feb. 1).

Bell is hitting .192/.241/.385 with one home run, two strikeouts and two walks in 26 spring at-bats.

There's no reason to be alarmed by the slow start for the Pirates' everyday first baseman, given how small the sample size is. Bell could hit cleanup for Pittsburgh all year long, likely sandwiched in between Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco. Since Feb. 1, he is being drafted as the 23rd first baseman off the board in NFBC leagues (188.2 overall), which is a fair representation of his fantasy value for 2018.

Votto is 1-for-18 with three runs scored and one RBI through nine spring training games.

Votto is off to a sluggish start through the first weeks of spring training, but barring any negative reports in the near future, this shouldn't worry fantasy owners. He's expected to put together a solid season, coming off a year in which he hit 36 home runs, recorded 100 RBI and nearly won the NL MVP award. The 34-year-old first baseman appears to have plenty left in the tank despite early struggles at the plate.

Freeman is 6-for-20 (.300) with one RBI and three extra-base hits through eight spring training games.

Freeman seems locked in and ready to go after putting up impressive numbers through the first weeks of spring training. He looks to have yet another big season ahead after slashing .307/.403/.586 with 28 home runs and 71 RBI in just 117 games in 2017. The 28-year-old will begin the year as Atlanta's starting first baseman, barring injury.

Hague was sent to minor-league camp Sunday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Hague put up serviceable numbers in 11 spring training appearances, recording four hits and one walk in 17 plate appearances. The Mariners don't believe he's quite ready to make a big-league Opening Day roster. Hague should start the year at Triple-A Tacoma.

Bour (back) is starting at first base and batting fourth in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees, Marc Carig of The Athletic New York reports.

Bour was scratched from Saturday's contest due to back spasms, but the first baseman is set to re-enter the action after a day off. He'll look to carry over his career-best performance from 2017 into the new season.