MLB Player News

Rays manager Kevin Cash doesn't appear ready to name a starting shortstop, as he said Tuesday he likes "all the guys we have" competing for the job. However, it appears Asdrubal Cabrera and Nick Franklin are the favorites over Tim Beckham, per MLB.com.

"[The candidates are] still kind of bouncing back and forth," Cash said. "But we want the guy who is going to make the routine play. And not to say that anybody's not doing that, [it] seems like they're all doing that. Cabby just has the experience factor with making that play."

Cash said a decision on who will be the starting shortstop could be made next week.

Rays infielder Nick Franklin, who is competing for the starting shortstop job, returned to the starting lineup Monday against the Yankees after leaving Saturday's spring game due to a hip strain. Franklin started at shortstop and hit leadoff Monday.

Rays infielder Nick Franklin left Saturday's game with a hip strain. The injury wasn't believed to be serious, but he'll be held out on Sunday as well. The team told the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin that Franklin is expected back on Monday. 

"Everything is good," Franklin told MLB.com's Bill Chastain. "I took everything as normal today. I didn't feel any discomfort, so I should be ready whenever."

Rays second baseman Nick Franklin was forced out of Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates with a mild left hip strain, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Franklin went 0 for 2 with a strikeout before before he was replaced by Ryan Brett in the bottom of the fourth inning. The team notified reporters that Franklin's injury is not considered to be serious, but did not reveal whether he would play on Sunday.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, who is working his way back from a mild patella tendinitis in his left knee, is targeting game action at some point next week, per the Star-Telegram. Although he's scheduled to miss at least Texas' first four spring games, Andrus has been taking batting practice and working on his fielding.

"I'm still doing everything, still hitting," Andrus said. "It's a long spring training.

"I feel better," Andrus said. "If I keep feeling this way I think I'll be ready to play next week. I don't think missing four or five games is going to do something good or bad to me."

Athletics infielder Marcus Semien cannot be stopped this spring.

After going 3 for 3 with two home runs on Tuesday, Semien again reached in all his plate appearances on Wednesday. He wasted no time getting to work, singling in two runs in the first inning. Semien would walk in his next appearance before driving in another run on a single in his final at-bat. 

Semien, who has yet to make an out this spring, downplayed his success, saying "I'm just getting good pitches to hit right now." The 24-year-old hit .234/.300/.372 over 231 at-bats last season. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus was held out of Wednesday's spring opener against the Royals due to mild patella tendinitis in his left knee. He is not scheduled to play in the first four Cactus League games, per MLB.com.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia is weighing how much emphasis to put on spring-training performance as he decides how to approach the second-base position this season, MLB.com reports.

"A lot of it is to see what the best fit is for your group of guys, what your lineup needs are," Scioscia said. "There's an absolute to people winning jobs at spring training. Probably not at the analysis you're looking at -- 'Oh, he hit .340 in spring training' -- but there are a lot of things we're looking at as to how a guy fits in our lineup. You can make the team in spring, for sure, with the things that you show."

Scioscia hasn't ruled out the option of using multiple players at the position as the situation dictates.

"That's one of the options," he said. "There are guys that have the ability to go out there and do what we need to do on the defensive end and the offensive end, and we'll see who emerges and who gives us the best look."

Josh Rutledge highlights a second-base competition that also includes Grant Green, Johnny Giavotella and Taylor Featherston.

Athletics infielder Marcus Semien hit two home runs in his spring debut on Tuesday.

Semien didn't take long to strike. In his first at-bat, Semien crushed an 0-2 pitch from Madison Bumgarner for a two-run shot. He added a solo shot in the fifth inning off Cody Hall. Semien finished 3 for 3, with two runs scored and four RBI. He's expected to open the season as the team's starting shortstop. 

Rays infielder Nick Franklin will be battling for the starting job at shortstop this spring, and he has no doubts he can play the position at the major-league level.

"Absolutely," Franklin said, per the Tampa Bay Times. "Absolutely. 100 percent. I've grown up playing shortstop. Even at the big-league level, playing short just seems natural to me. I enjoy it. I'm really comfortable there. … It's been in my blood for a long time.

"I wouldn't say I need any work. Honestly, I think over these past years I've improved a significant amount at shortstop. … I've been practicing all offseason at short. And there's really no weakness."

The Rays plan to take most of the spring to decide who will be the team's starting shortstop, but Franklin seems pretty confident he will emerge as the victor in the competition.

"I'm going to be out there at short," he said. "There's not a doubt in my mind that I'm not."