MLB Player News

Gurriel (hand) began taking groundballs Thursday with more infield drills planned in the coming days, Oliver Macklin of MLB.com reports. "He's starting to do a little bit more," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's just starting the beginning stages of light ground balls... It's just a matter of keeping the swelling out of his hand and building his hand strength back up."

The Astros will have Gurriel work in the field, but have no plans yet to have him swing a bat. That, Hinch says, will be the final step in the rehabilitation process. Gurriel is still on pace to return mid-to-late April. Marwin Gonzalez is expected to get most of the at-bats at first base in place of Gurriel, whose spot on the 25-man roster will be filled by one of A.J. Reed, Tyler White or J.D. Davis. The eventual winner of that roster spot is expected to be a temporary addition and will not get many starts.

Mountcastle is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his right hand, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Look for this absence to extend closer to six weeks, as Mountcastle is one of the Orioles' top prospects and the team has no reason to push its luck. Once fully healthy, Mountcastle should report to Double-A Bowie. He struggled initially following his promotion to the Eastern League last season, slashing .222/.239/.366 after posting marks of .314/.343/.542 with High-A Frederick to begin the year.

Rizzo is batting .333/.375/.593 through 27 Cactus League at-bats with two home runs, eight RBI and six runs scored.

Coming off of his second straight 32-home-run, 109-RBI season, Rizzo should again be viewed as one of the elite players in fantasy baseball this year. The 28-year-old has also been fairly durable, as he's played 155 or more games four times over the last five seasons. Rizzo should be an early-round pick who posts very strong returns in 2018.

General manager Jeff Luhnow said Gurriel (hand) will begin increased activity Thursday, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel will begin to ramp things up as he continues to work his way back from hand surgery he underwent at the end of February. The 33-year-old remains on schedule in his recovery, which lines him up to return sometime in mid-to-late April. Once he's healthy, however, he'll have to serve a five-game suspension, so it's more likely he's back in action towards the latter half of the month. In the meantime, Marwin Gonzalez appears to be the most likely candidate to see reps at first base until Gurriel is back in the fold.

The Mets reassigned Alonso to their minor-league camp Wednesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alonso, who was attending Mets camp as a non-roster invitee, went 2-for-14 in Grapefruit League games in his first spring training with the big club. The first baseman is expected to open the upcoming campaign at Double-A Binghamton after logging only 47 plate appearances in the Eastern League in 2017 following his late-season promotion from High-A St. Lucie.

Freeman went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

The first baseman has been having a solid spring overall at the plate, but Tuesday's homer was his first. Freeman is the one established superstar in the Braves' young lineup, but if Ronald Acuna hits the ground running after he makes his major-league debut and Ozzie Albies improves in his first full big-league campaign, the Atlanta offense could be a lot more potent than expected -- and provide Freeman with a lot more RBI opportunities.

Bour (back) will bat cleanup and play first base against the Mets on Wednesday.

Bour has been dealing with back spasms for the past few days and was withheld from Tuesday's lineup for precautionary reasons. Barring any setback, the first baseman should be fully operational by the time the regular season rolls around.

Bour (back) will be in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Bour was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with back spasms, which he has been dealing with for a few days. If he's able to successfully return Wednesday, there will be little reason to believe that the issue will have any effect on him by the start of the regular season.

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.