MLB Player News

Joseph is swapping between left field and right field in Tuesday's game against the Tigers, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The ploy could be an attempt to test out Joseph's versatility at multiple outfield positions, though it could also be an attempt to hide his glove in the spots least likely for a ball to be hit to. Either way, the fact that the Phillies are experimenting with Joseph indicates that they want to give him a fair shot at making the team this spring. He's currently not a favorite to win a bench role, but if he hits and takes reasonably well to the outfield, it would help his chances of sticking around.

Gurriel (suspension) is returning to Houston on Tuesday to have his left hand examined, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel was initially scratched from Monday's game against the Marlins with what was described as left wrist discomfort. It now appears to be a hand injury and may be more serious than originally reported. The veteran first baseman will already be missing the first five games of the regular season for making a racially inappropriate gesture towards Yu Darvish during the World Series. If he's forced to miss more time, Tyler White or A.J. Reed could earn an expanded role with the big-league club in April.

Joseph is in the lineup as the left fielder Tuesday against the Tigers, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Joseph has never played in the outfield at any point in his professional career. The breakout of Rhys Hoskins and the signing of Carlos Santana mean that Joseph is unlikely to make the roster as a first baseman this year. His outfield tryout seems like an effort to give him one last chance to stick on the roster, as there could be a role for him as a fifth outfielder and pinch hitter. Even in that role, however, his at-bats are likely to be limited, leaving him with little fantasy value barring an injury to a Phillies starter.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Goldschmidt could receive more days off in 2018, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

It should be noted that other managers have said the same thing about Goldschmidt in the past, but he's still managed to appear in more than 145 games in all but one of the last seven seasons -- the only time he failed to eclipse that total came in 2014, when a broken hand forced him to miss the final two months of the season. That said, even if Lovullo follows through with his plan to rest Goldschmidt more this season, it shouldn't have too much of an impact on the 30-year-old from a fantasy perspective as he still figures to see the lion's share of starts at first base.

Stassi is day-to-day with back spasms, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Stassi was expected to play in Monday's game against the Cardinals before the issue cropped up. While the ailment shouldn't keep him sidelined for too long, the Twins will likely play it safe with the 28-year-old given how early it is in camp. Stassi is expected to open the season with Triple-A Rochester, though he could earn a promotion to the majors in summer if he impresses with the Red Wings.

Smith (quadriceps) had an MRI which revealed no issues Monday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Smith had strained his quadriceps Sunday, but appears to have not done serious harm. He is considered day-to-day. It's doubtful that this injury will have long-term effects, but any lost spring training at-bats could hurt him in his battle with Adrian Gonzalez for early season playing time at first base.

Gurriel (suspension) was scratched from Monday's game against the Marlins due to left wrist discomfort, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.

The severity of the injury is unclear, but the Astros won't take any chances with the 33-year-old given how early it is in camp. More should be known about the ailment once he's further evaluated in the coming days; look for Tyler White and A.J. Reed to get some extra reps at first base if he's forced to miss any action.

Cron is likely to be a full-time starter for the Rays, Steve Carney of Sports Radio 620 WDAE reports.

After being acquired by Tampa Bay, it was thought that Cron might be set for a role as the short side of a platoon with the left-handed Brad Miller, but manager Kevin Cash says he wants to give Cron a full-time role. Even with full-time at-bats, it's fair to wonder what his ceiling looks like, as he owns a career .262/.307/.449 slash line and has hit just 24 home runs per 600 plate appearances, a very modest home-run rate for a first baseman at the present time. At the very least, however, the appeal in targeting him deeper formats has increased with the prospect of better counting stats, and the Rays' lack of middle-of-the-order pop potentially leaving him in the heart of the lineup on a regular basis.

The Mets announced that Smith is dealing with a strained right quadriceps and will require an MRI on Monday, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

Smith was already off to a poor start to the spring after he was scratched from the Mets' Grapefruit League opener due to tardiness, and the injury only further hurts his hopes of inching ahead of Adrian Gonzalez in their competition for the Opening Day first-base gig. The MRI should shed more light on the severity of Smith's injury, but it seems likely that he'll miss at least a few more Grapefruit League games, at the very least.

Voit is re-working his swing this spring in an attempt to reduce his launch angle, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

In an era when more and more players are trying to lift the ball in order to hit for more power, Voit is going in the opposite direction. He's reportedly making the change in order to become less susceptible to high fastballs, which have grown in frequency in order to combat the increasingly common uppercut swing path. Voit is somewhat of an odd player to be making this change, as his 11.6 degree average launch angle in 2017 wasn't remarkably high. He did have a somewhat high 25 percent strikeout rate though, and as a 27-year-old fighting to make the end of the major-league roster, he might be desperate to find anything that could take him to the next level. Swing changes are far from guaranteed to work, but if Voit's batted-ball profile looks different this spring, it may not be a fluke.