MLB Player News

Vaughn (back) is starting at first base and batting second Monday versus the Cubs.

Vaughn will be back in the lineup after dealing with back tightness for over a week. The 24-year-old is now all set for Thursday's Opening Day contest versus the Astros, barring any sort of setback.

Voit re-signed Monday with the Brewers on a one-year deal that includes a club option for 2024, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Voit technically opted out of his minor-league contract with the Brewers over the weekend, but his return seemed likely after the team informed Keston Hiura that he wouldn't be included on the Opening Day roster. With Milwaukee officially designated Hiura for assignment Monday, the Brewers will now formally add Voit to the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster. The 32-year-old should play regularly against left-handers and will get a little action versus righties, too, on days Jesse Winker plays the outfield.

The Brewers designated Hiura for assignment Monday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Hiura was told Friday that he wouldn't be a part of the Opening Day roster and now he's been dropped from the team's 40-man roster. The former top prospect for Milwaukee has never really clicked at the major-league level, most recently batting .226 with a career-high 41.7 percent strikeout rate over 234 at-bats in 80 games last season. Hiura will now either be claimed by another team, remain with Triple-A Nashville or be released outright. Considering the fact that he's only 26 years old, it's unlikely that he wouldn't draw interest from another team.

Raley has made the Rays' Opening Day roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Raley has popped five home runs this spring and is out of options, so his spot on the Opening Day roster had seemed pretty secure. The 28-year-old might wind up playing a decent amount against righties as the Rays do their usual mixing and matching and his pop warrants attention in single-league formats and some deep mixed leagues.

The Rays optioned Aranda to Triple-A Durham on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With Opening Day right around the corner Thursday, Aranda is one of the final major-league roster cut-downs for the Rays this spring. The 24-year-old batted .192 with one homer, five RBI and two runs scored over 26 at-bats during spring training, failing to impress enough to crack the big-league roster. Considering his positional flexibility and his prior experience in the MLB from last season, Aranda seems like a top candidate to earn a call-up early this year.

The Red Sox optioned Dalbec to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Dalbec's demotion likely confirms that Yu Chang has secured the final bench spot on the Red Sox's Opening Day roster as a utility infielder. Though he's long intrigued with his power potential, Dalbec's high strikeout rates and career-long struggles against right-handed pitching make it difficult to envision the 27-year-old serving as anything more than a short-side platoon man over the long haul.

The Phillies optioned Clemens to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.

Clemens and Scott Kingery were among the players Philadelphia sent to minor-league camp in the latest round of roster cuts, moves that likely ensure that Dalton Guthrie and Jake Cave have claimed the final bench spots on the team's Opening Day squad. After being acquired from the Tigers this offseason in a five-layer deal, Clemens made a big impression in his first spring with the Phillies, producing a 1.002 OPS while stealing three bases over 19 games. His ability to play multiple spots in the infield as well as both corner-outfield spots should put him near the top of the list for a call-up if the Phillies' position-player depth is tested at any point.

Raley is likely to earn a roster spot out of spring training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Raley reworked his swing by lessening his leg kick, and he appears to have parlayed that into strong results this spring. Across 45 plate appearances in the Grapefruit League, he's delivered a .326/.396/.721 line. While that won't be replicable during the regular season, it is likely to be enough to earn him a bench spot on the roster -- and the fact that he's out of minor-league options also helps. Raley could back up Yandy Diaz at first base in addition to seeing action in the outfield.

Dixon was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday.

Dixon's contract was selected by the Padres late in the 2022 campaign, but he'll begin this season in the minors. He slashed .371/.447/.866 with 13 homers, 32 RBI, 24 runs and three stolen bases over 25 games at the Triple-A level last year, and he'll be a candidate to be called up if the Padres need additional depth at some point this year.

Marlins general manager Kim Ng said Sunday that Gurriel "should be there on Thursday," implying his contract will be selected prior to the Marlins' season opener with the Mets that day, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

After drawing limited interest in free agency this winter, Gurriel settled for a minor-league deal with Miami in March and showed well enough in his limited time in the Grapefruit League to earn a spot on the Marlins' big-league roster. The 38-year-old struggled mightily in 2022 with a .242/.288/.360 slash line over 584 plate appearances, but he led all of baseball with a .319 average in 2021. Though he may be able to bounce back in the batting-average department in 2023 if he can stave off any major decline in the career-worst 12.5 percent strikeout rate he sported a season ago, Gurriel's advancing age, paucity of power and poorer team context with the move from Houston to Miami may limit his fantasy appeal largely to NL-only formats.