France is viewed by the Twins as the starter at first base, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. "He's going to play a lot," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "That's really the best way of saying it. The kind of hitter that he is, this isn't a platoon situation. I think he's going to play."

France signed just a one-year, $1 million contract which wouldn't appear to indicate he'd be the leader for an everyday role. Baldelli could be just boosting his confidence as the team works on his swing after a 2024 season that saw him hit just .234/.305/.365 with 13 homers over 140 regular-season games. Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien will also compete for playing time at first base and France could still work in a platoon or time share. Still, Baldelli's comments should make France the leader in the competition as spring training begins.

Lowe will make $10.3 million in 2025 after losing his arbitration hearing against the Nationals on Saturday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Lowe will receive $800,000 less than what he filed for, but it still represents a $2.8 million raise from last season. The 29-year-old slashed .265/.361/.401 with 16 homers and 69 RBI across 565 plate appearances last season with the Rangers. He was traded in December to Washington, where he should continue to see regular opportunities at first base.

Gallo signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Gallo has a skills profile that has produced extreme results throughout his career, and he's struck out at least 39 percent of the time in each of the last three seasons. He's still capable of producing plenty of power, exhibited by ISO marks of at least .175 in the same three-year span. Gallo now finds his way to a roster that has plenty of opportunity, with his best chance for playing time seemingly coming in right field or at designated hitter.

Giants manager Bob Melvin indicated Thursday that Wade could bat leadoff this season, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

If it happens, it would likely be only against right-handers, as Wilmer Flores (knee) is expected to fill the short side of a platoon at first base with Wade. If Wade does indeed hit leadoff versus righties, Jung Hoo Lee would be used in the three hole. Melvin also noted Thursday that Wade could see some action in the outfield this season in addition to first base. The 31-year-old has primarily been a first baseman over the last two seasons but made five starts in the outfield last year.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday that Hall will get additional reps at first base following the injury to Spencer Horwitz (thumb), Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Hall was signed to a minor-league contract with a spring training invite back in December. The 29-year-old has a .700 OPS with 10 home runs over 198 career plate appearances at the major-league level but spent all of 2024 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization. The Pirates' plan is to fill the void left by Horwitz internally, and while Jared Triolo and Billy Cook are probably the favorites to emerge at first base, Hall now has a fighting chance to make the Opening Day roster.

Horwitz said Wednesday that the surgery he underwent last week was to repair the extensor tendon in his right thumb, John Perrotto of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports. He's expected to face a recovery timeline of 6-to-8 weeks.

The left-handed-hitting Horwitz's procedure was designed to address chronic symptoms with his wrist, but the surgery itself was actually performed on the thumb of his throwing hand. In any case, Horwitz's projected 6-to-8-week recovery timeline could keep him out of action for most or all of spring training and force him to open the season on the injured list. If Horwitz is shelved to begin the campaign, Pittsburgh could turn to Jared Triolo, Billy Cook or Bryan Reynolds to pick up starts at first base early on.

Reds manager Terry Francona said Tuesday that he'd like to see Encarnacion-Strand play third base during spring training, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Encarnacion-Strand was expected to be the team's primary first baseman in 2024, but hand and wrist injuries limited him to 29 games. He started seven games at third base for the Reds in 2023, and the hot corner was a regular spot for Encarnacion-Strand in the minors and college. Francona indicated that several infielders will "move around" at the beginning of spring training before the manager settles on a position for players like Encarnacion-Strand, Gavin Lux and Jeimer Candelario.

Horwitz will miss time during spring training due to a right wrist injury, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Horwitz was traded from Toronto to Cleveland and then Pittsburgh back in December and was expected to begin 2025 as the Pirates' primary first baseman. However, he suffered a wrist injury in the offseason that required surgery and has yet to shed his cast. There's no telling if the infielder's absence will extend into the regular season, but if he ends up beginning the season on the injured list, Jared Triolo would likely be the next man up to start at first.

Steer could be limited to designated-hitter duty at the beginning of the spring training schedule due to shoulder soreness, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Steer battled some shoulder soreness late last season and apparently still isn't quite over the issue. It does not seem to be something to get overly worried about at this juncture, but that could change if the soreness continues to linger. It's not clear when exactly Steer's shoulder began bothering him last season, but he slashed only .165/.268/.294 in September.

The Twins signed France to a one-year, $1 million contract Tuesday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's a major-league contract but is not guaranteed, per Miller. France will be thrown into the first-base mix for Minnesota along with Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien. The 30-year-old slashed only .234/.305/.365 with 13 homers over 140 regular-season games between the Mariners and Reds last season, but the Twins will be hoping to get a version of France closer to the one that produced an All-Star campaign in 2022 with Seattle.