MLB Player News

Singleton, who was removed from the Astros' 40-man roster during the offseason, may find playing time at Triple-A Fresno difficult to come by, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Singleton dropped off the map last season, hitting just .202 at Fresno and never reaching the majors. A former top prospect, the 25-year-old first baseman will be challenged by younger prospects A.J. Reed and Tyler White, both of whom are expected to start the season with the Grizzlies.

Brown said Friday that he lost 24 pounds this offseason, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

The Mets have to be pleased that one of their top prospects will be entering the 2017 season in much-improved physical shape than in previous years. The 21-year-old first baseman has always projected to be a strong hitter, but his slimmed-down figure should now allow him to be more agile defensively as well. He'll likely begin the season with Triple-A Las Vegas, and could eventually earn a big league promotion with a strong performance.

Votto is expected to bat third according to manager Bryan Price, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The batting average and OBP dynamo was made for the three-hole, and he hit 29 home runs in each of his past two seasons. Votto deserves fantasy consideration in the first round of OBP leagues.

Indians manager Terry Francona said he is not sure whether Santana or Edwin Encarnacion will be the primary first baseman for Cleveland this season, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Santana played 64 games at first base and 92 as the designated hitter last season, but hit the same amount of home runs (17) at each position. The DH position could be a limiting fantasy value in some leagues, but Francona says he still needs to reassess the situation this spring and talk to the sluggers individually. Either way, both Santana and Encarnacion provide powerful offensive weapons within the Cleveland lineup and will likely receive equal playing time throughout the course of the season.

Pirates head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said that Bell (knee) is making good progress toward being cleared to participate in baseball activities, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports.

The top prospect had knee surgery at the beginning of February, but it seems like he's progressing at a pace that the trainers are happy with. That being said, Bell's status for Opening Day is still up in the air, although things should become clearer once he resumes baseball activities.

Stassi will see playing time in the outfield during spring training, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Stassi, who primarily plays first base, has emerged as a real shot to make the roster as a bench player. The 27-year-old hit .267 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI for Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season and could provide a formidable left-handed bat in the Philadelphia lineup. With the offseason departure of Ryan Howard, Stassi may land a backup role to Tommy Joseph, but could also be flexed into an outfield spot.

Cron (thumb) is expected to begin a season-long competition for playing time with Luis Valbuena as spring training begins, the Orange County Register reports.

There are a few variables in play, including the health of Albert Pujols, Cron's health following October thumb surgery, and the Angels' defensive plans around the infield with the addition of Danny Espinosa via trade this winter. Nevertheless, Cron has 20-25 homer pop if he finds a way into the lineup on a daily basis, while the improvement he showed in his strikeout rate last season (dropped from 20.3 percent to 16.9 percent) bodes well for his chances of sustaining his 16-point increase in batting average to last season's .278 mark.

Bour may not have a regular platoon partner at first base this season, requiring him to face left-handed pitchers more often.

He's a career .223/.273/.291 hitter against lefties with no home runs in 103 at-bats over three seasons, and that performance will have to improve if he's going to take advantage of any additional opportunities against them in 2017. Even so, the Marlins seem inclined to carry an extra arm in their bullpen rather than a bat on their bench, which could leave starting catcher J.T. Realmuto as Bour's primary backup -- and force the 28-year-old slugger to sink or swim against same-side pitching.

Gurriel, who played mostly at third base in 2016, will play first base this coming season.

Gurriel, the Cuban defector who signed a five-year deal during the middle of the 2016 season, is a bat looking for a home in Houston's lineup. In addition to third base, he played some outfield as well before getting introduced to first base late last season. The Astros added multiple outfielders during the offseason and expect prospect Alex Bregman to man third base. That leaves first base for Gurriel, who showed decent power in Cuba but should be challenged here in the states.

Bell (knee) intends to be completely ready in time for Opening Day, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The top prospect underwent a minor knee procedure at the beginning of February that put some question into his status for the start of the regular season, but he seems to be fairly optimistic in his status moving forward. He began throwing Monday and plans to start hitting within the coming days, which hopefully should help him progress into spring game action relatively early. Should he be ready for Opening Day, Bell seems to be in line to start at first base for the Pirates.