MLB Player News

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.

Shaw (shoulder) will DH and bat fifth in the order for Saturday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 23-year-old prospect will be making his spring debut after putting together a slash line of .289/.328/.530 with 18 home runs and 50 RBI in 88 games with Triple-A Sacramento in 2017. He is coming off a minor shoulder injury that sidelined him during the Arizona Fall League, but he should be fully healthy heading into the spring. Even with an impressive showing in camp, Shaw will likely return to the Triple-A level once the regular season starts, but keep an eye out for his major-league debut later this summer.

Diaz (groin) is currently without restriction following the right groin strain suffered in November, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Diaz sustained the injury playing in the Venezuelan Winter League for Leones del Caracas, but has since undergone successful rehab in time for spring training. The 25-year-old slashed .263/.352/.327 in 179 plate appearances for the Indians in last season, with most of his at-bats coming as a third baseman. Diaz is likely to serve a similar role for Cleveland in 2018, and his potential role should become clearer with spring training now underway.

Rizzo (personal) will take the field against the Rangers on Saturday for the club's second Cactus League contest, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Rizzo stepped away from the Cubs' camp for a few days in the wake of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. where he graduated from in 2007. The first baseman returned to Chicago's spring training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. and will ready to go moving forward.

Smith has been removed from the starting lineup Friday as a punishment for arriving late, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

It's not a great sign for Smith, who is tabbed as the Mets' first baseman of the future. After a poor debut in 2017, where he hit .198/.262/.395 in 49 games, the Mets indicated their lack of faith in him by bringing in veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. While it would be wrong to read too much into one incident, Smith is already fighting the perception that he's not a very hard worker, and this just reinforces the idea that the team isn't very happy with him. This event could be a small blow to Smith in his battle to win the starting job out of camp, though if he hits better than Gonzalez this spring, the job should still be his.

Voit altered his diet and lost approximately 15 pounds during the offseason in preparation to see occasional time in left field in 2018, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Opportunities to show he can play left field are expected to happen later on this spring, but Voit's path to extra at-bats at first base to begin Grapefruit League play has been cleared with early injuries to Matt Carpenter (back) and Jose Martinez (quad). The Cards have a lot of moving parts in their infield if their current options remain healthy, and the 27-year-old Voit is hoping to carve out a role on the 25-man roster in the coming weeks. The uphill battle for playing time is particularly difficult for Voit since he's not an ideal platoon partner for Jose Martinez, as both players hit right-handed. Voit still has minor-league options remaining, which could lead him to return to Triple-A to begin the season.

Olson (hamstring) will be in the lineup for Friday's Cactus League contest against the Angels, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Olson was sidelined with a Grade 2 hamstring strain toward the end of the 2017 season, but appears to be at full health as spring camp gets underway. The first baseman slashed .259/.352/.651 with 24 home runs and 45 RBI in 59 games last year and will settle into a middle-of-the-order role with the club in 2018.

Gurriel will be played at various spots around the infield this season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel played almost exclusively as a first baseman last season, but Astros manager A.J. Hinch wants to use him occasionally at second base, third base and shortstop in 2018. He was primarily a third baseman and second baseman in Cuba and Japan before coming to the United States, so the positions wouldn't be foreign to him, though moving back up the defensive spectrum at age 33 would be an unusual move. If he does receive enough time at one of those positions to gain eligibility it would be a boost to his fantasy value, as his bat isn't particularly noteworthy for a first baseman.

The right-field fence at Angel Stadium has been lowered from 18 feet to eight feet, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels had one of the tougher parks for lefties to hit homers in last season, but this change should make things a bit easier for left-handers like Calhoun. With his above-average pull rate (44.7 percent last year), Calhoun could be the player most affected by this change. Don't expect a major boost, but he could show a little more power than the projections expect as a result of this change.

Calhoun won't necessarily operate in a right field platoon even after the signing of Chris Young, Jeff Fletcher of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports.

Some thought that a platoon could be put in place given how much success Young had against lefties previously (.861 OPS versus lefties from 2015-2017), but a move like this doesn't seem to be imminent. Fletcher makes it seem like Young is purely a backup to all three outfield spots, implying that Calhoun will still get a fair amount of starts against southpaws. The 30-year-old struggled against lefties last season, but he is only a year removed from batting .290 in 155 at-bats against them. This situation will likely gain some clarity as Cactus League games are played.