MLB Player News

Stassi has earned a spot on the Phillies' Opening Day roster, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Stassi was competing with Jesmuel Valentin and Daniel Nava for the Phillies' final two bench spots. The 27-year-old went 19-for-59 (.339) with six taters and 17 RBI this spring, solidifying himself a spot on the 25-man roster to open the season.

Cron went 1-for-2 and blasted his fourth home run of the spring in Wednesday's win over the Brewers.

Cron may have done enough with his bat this spring (.313 with four homers) to win the Angels' starting first base job outright, but a hamstring injury took Luis Valbuena out of the competition, opening up everyday playing time for the slugging first baseman to start the season. The 27-year-old contributed 16 homers and 69 RBI in 407 at-bats last season before injuries took a hold of his season, so there is potential for 20-plus homers in the slugger's bat if he can hang on to the job all year and stay healthy himself.

Goldschmidt has gone 9-for-26 (.346 average) with one homer and six RBI during Cactus League play.

Goldschmidt was also able to pick up 13 at-bats in his five appearances for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, so despite the lack of Cactus League appearances, he should be fully geared up for Opening Day. The first baseman's slugging took an unexpected hit in 2016, but even if he fails to notice much of a rebound in homers during the upcoming campaign, he could see his run-producing opportunities increase with the Diamondbacks getting a healthy A.J. Pollock back at the top of the order after Pollock sat out much of last season with a fractured elbow.

McBride (back) went 2-for-3 with a double and a homer in Wednesday's Cactus League game.

McBride missed most of spring with a lat strain and is now 3-for-12 with a homer and five strikeouts. The 31-year-old will serve most of the year as organizational depth.

Santana is expected to open the season as the leadoff hitter for the Indians, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

It's a role that could change with the return of Michael Brantley, but is certainly a well-deserved spot for the first baseman. Santana led the Indians with 34 home runs last season (19 from the leadoff spot) and is set to help form a powerful lineup alongside Edwin Encarnacion, Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor.

Stassi's chances of earning a roster spot with the Phillies improved with the release of Chris Coghlan on Tuesday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com report.

Stassi has hit .320 with five home runs and a 1.050 OPS this spring while seeing playing time at first base and in the outfield. He is competing with Daniel Nava and Jesmuel Valentin for one of two bench spots.

Walker was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Walker was designated for assignment after the Reds claimed Scooter Gennett off waivers from the Brewers. The 26-year-old was 7-for-37 (.189) this spring before being optioned down to Triple-A. He carries some power potential, but he'll likely spend the year as organizational depth with the Diamondbacks in 2017.

Freeman went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

He's been scorching hot all spring, hitting .500 through 40 at-bats, but only two of his 20 hits have gone for extra bases so the performance isn't quite as impressive as it looks at first glance. Nonetheless, Freeman will carry a lot of momentum into Opening Day as he looks to build on his breakout 2016.

Malm was released by the Rangers on Tuesday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Stefan Stevenson reports.

The 26-year-old southpaw transitioned from a position player to a relief pitcher in 2015 in an effort to finally reach the big leagues, but the change in roles has yet to yield a spot on a 40-man roster. He is unlikely to offer big-league value anytime soon.

The Indians informed Colabello on Sunday that he wouldn't make the Indians' Opening Day roster.

Colabello had an excellent spring training with a 15-of-39 showing from the dish and performed well for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, but as a non-roster invitee, the 33-year-old always faced long odds to break camp with the big club. After missing much of the first half of last season while serving a suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Colabello slashed just .180/.248/.288 with Triple-A Buffalo in the Blue Jays organization. He'll likely have to find some success with Triple-A Columbus before earning a promotion to the Indians in 2017.