MLB Player News

The Braves are set to go to arbitration with Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman just days before the club gets together for spring training, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Heyward's hearing is set for February 11, Freeman's is on February 13 and Kimbrel's will take place February 17. Pitchers and catchers are set to report on the 12, while position players will report on the 18. All three players are expected to have the hearing, as the Braves are one of the teams that employ a "file to trial" method when it comes to arbitration.

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores began his pro career as a shortstop before his lack of mobility at the position forced the team to move him around the infield.

Well, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said if Flores' offseason conditioning program pays the type of dividends they hope, then Flores could get some reps at shortstop this spring, per MLB.com.

"I don’t think we’d rule it out," Alderson said in a telephone interview. "Why should we? I think we have to see how spring training plays out for him -- is there going to be a spot for him in the lineup? Is there not? Is he going to be a bench player for us? Is he going to go to Las Vegas?"

Flores spent the offseason going through a team-supervised conditioning program instead of playing winter ball in Venezuela. The team wanted Flores to focus on his overall health.

"It became clear, if you watched him play last year and run the bases … that [conditioning] was an area that needed to improve," Alderson said. "Since he’d never done any conditioning at all, you say to yourself, ‘Gee, there may be substantial opportunity for improvement. Let’s see what happens. Let’s try it.’ And that’s what we’ve done. We won’t know the benefits of that until we get down to spring training. 

"I wouldn’t say [Flores to shortstop] is dead. I think that one of the things we want to see is how well he has done with his training regimen in Michigan."

The Phillies are "optimistic" about first baseman Ryan Howard's status heading into 2014, according to manager Ryne Sandberg. However, the team still has some concerns, particularly how Howard will perform against left-handed pitching, according to The Philadelphia Daily News.

Howard is a career .295 batter against right-handed pitchers, as opposed to a .224 batter against lefties. He's hit just .173 against lefties the last two seasons.

"He's going to get the opportunity to hit against lefties," Sandberg said. "That's in spring training . . . to get better at that. That's the first thing that takes place."

Still, unlike his predecessor -- Charlie Manuel -- who kept Howard in the lineup regularly, Sandberg alluded to benching Howard against lefties, if he doesn't improve.

"Not if we have a righthanded hitter that can go over there and hit. That's not a concern. 'Cause I can maybe do something about it," Sandberg said.

Yet, the Phillies are hoping it doesn't come to a platoon and remain confident Howard will be productive in 2014 after two straight disappointing seasons.

"I think he's going to be on the field and healthy and he's going to provide solid offense for us," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "And I know if he's on the field, that's what he's doing, and we'll win games because he is on the field. He's 100 percent. There's nothing medically wrong with him. His knee's fine. His calf's fine. It's time for him to play and produce."

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera saw his offensive production decline for a second straight season in 2013. However, manager Terry Francona doesn't foresee the declining trend continuing in 2014, according to MLB.com.

"I think Cabby will be coming in with something to prove," Francona said. "He got nicked up a number of times (in 2013). It happens to somebody every year. He was playing catch-up and his swing got long, and he tried to go two or three for one, and you can't do that. You see it happen. Every team has it happen to somebody. I do think he'll show up with something to prove."

While Twins first baseman Chris Colabello could have made more money had he signed a deal to play in South Korea, he didn't want money to be the main reason for heading overseas, according to the Pioneer Press.

"A lot of people have told me: 'This is an opportunity you can't pass up,'" Colabello said of playing in South Korea. "I don't think I've ever chased money in my life. Why start now?"

Colabello will be battling for a spot on the Twins' bench this spring. The opportunity to make the major-league roster was enough for him to turn down the more lucrative overseas offer.

"For me, in my heart, what it came down to was I want to pursue this to the fullest extent, whatever that means," Colabello said. "I think I owe it to the Twins, I owe it to myself and I owe it to my family to do that. I didn't want to have any regrets."

The questions continue to pour in about new White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu. Manager Robin Ventura is the latest to offer his opinion about the Cuban infielder after scouting him during the team's minicamp last week.

"Again, you are just watching him take batting practice and things like that," Ventura told MLB.com. "But he's got a good swing, it comes off of his bat really nice. He looks like a professional hitter. That's more than probably people gave him credit for.

"He doesn't look like just a guy who is trying to yank everything down the left-field line. He does have the ability to hit it the other way, which turns out to be what you need to survive in the game."

While Carlos Santana seems pretty confident he could handle playing third base regularly, Indians manager Terry Francona isn't ready to rush to any decisions about who will be the team's primary third baseman in 2014.

"We don't need to make any kind of decisions today, nor will we at the beginning of spring training," Francona said, per MLB.com. "I've never even seen the guy play third. ... We've got a lot of time to let that play out."

Carlos Santana told ESPNDeportes.com if the season started today, he believes he would play regularly at third base. Santana, who hasn't played at third base since 2008, is also expected to see playing time at first base and DH as the Indians hand the starting catcher duties over to Yan Gomes.

The Braves have exchanged salary arbitration figures with three players, CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman reports.

First baseman Freddie Freeman filed for $5.75 million, and the Braves offered $4.5 million. He is in his first year of arbitration eligibility after hitting .319/.396/.501 with 23 home runs and 109 RBI in 551 at-bats last season.

Outfielder Jason Heyward filed for $5.5 million, and the team offered $5.2 million. He is his second year of arbitration eligibility after making $3.65 million last season while hitting .254/.349/.427 with 14 home runs and 38 RBI in 382 at-bats.

Closer Craig Kimbrel filed for $9 million, and the team offered $6.55 million. He is in his first year of arbitration eligibility after leading the majors with 50 saves while posting a 1.21 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 98:20 K:BB ratio in 67 innings.

The Braves still have a number of players who have not settled on a contract for 2014.

The club is in the process of exchanging arbitration numbers with the players, and both sides likely want to avoid an arbitration hearing. Much of the team's core is still unsettled, with Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman, Jason Heyward, Mike Minor and Kris Medlen among the players still in need of a contract. All those players are still under team control, so there's no risk Atlanta will lose them. But they need to agree on a figure for next season. Arbitration hearing are scheduled to take place beginning in February, so the team still has a few weeks to figure out the issue.