MLB Player News

Rodgers will be sidelined for at least one month with a right hamstring strain, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

The injury was downplayed after the 24-year-old exited Saturday's spring game against the Mariners, but he'll now be unavailable for at least the next four weeks. Rodgers will be sidelined until at least mid-April for the Rockies. Ryan McMahon could see time at second base in his absence, which would open opportunities at third base for Josh Fuentes.

Frazier is 12-for-18 with one stolen base in six Grapefruit League games.

The career .273 hitter batted just .230 in 209 at-bats in 2020, so he's looking for a rebound season. Frazier will serve as the team's primary second baseman, but manager Derek Shelton hasn't ruled out the occasional move to outfield. The 29-year-old got a late start this spring due to a hamstring injury -- he didn't debut until March 7 -- but the results thus far have been pretty good.

Diaz has gone 2-for-18 (.111) with a double, a triple and a 5:6 BB:K through 11 Grapefruit League games.

The patience and glimpses of extra-base power are intriguing, but they may not be enough to win Diaz the starting job at second base to begin the season. Jazz Chisholm, his main competition for the assignment, got the start Wednesday with most of the Marlins' projected Opening Day lineup and crushed his second home run of the spring, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Chisholm is perceived to have higher upside at the plate, so Diaz may need to be decisively better over the next two weeks to claim the starting role at the keystone.

Albies hit his second home run of the spring during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

The second baseman missed a bit of time with a sore neck, but Albies is otherwise enjoying a solid spring, going 6-for-21 (.286) with a 3:6 BB:K. Still only 24 years old, he'll head into the regular season looking to regain or even top the form that saw him pile up 24 homers, 15 steals and an .852 OPS in 2019 after a wrist issue derailed his 2020 campaign.

Gorman, a natural third baseman who's acclimating to second base in the wake of the offseason acquisition of Nolan Arenado, played at the keystone for the first time in a simulated game Tuesday and helped turn a double play, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Despite being thought of as the team's third baseman of the near future before Arenado's arrival, Gorman embraced the possibility of carving out another path to the majors after the former Rockie was inked to a contract that could run through 2027. Gorman made defensive strides at the hot corner in the Low-A and High-A levels during 2019, but his focus on second base this spring has been going relatively smoothly, including in Tuesday's sim game. The 20-year-old could open the season at Double-A, but the goal is to have him at Triple-A Memphis by the end of the 2021 minor-league campaign.

Hoerner (back) is starting at second base and batting eighth in Wednesday's spring game against the Padres.

The 23-year-old was scratched from Sunday's lineup with back tightness and was held out the past couple days, but he'll return to game action Wednesday. Hoerner is competing with David Bote for the starting job at the keystone in camp.

The Pirates reassigned Peguero to minor-league camp Tuesday.

The top prospect didn't see any Grapefruit League action because he arrived late to camp due to visa issues. Peguero, who hit a combined .326/.382/.485 in 227 at-bats in 2019, will likely start 2021 in High-A.

Bae was reassigned to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Bae worked with the major-league coaching staff to begin spring training but wasn't in contention for a spot on the big-league roster given his lack of experience in the minors. The 21-year-old appeared in 11 Grapefruit League games this year and went 2-for-11 with two runs, one RBI, one walk and three strikeouts.

Marte was pulled from Tuesday's spring game against the Athletics due to left ankle soreness, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

The 27-year-old apparently rolled his ankle while running the bases Tuesday, though manager Torey Lovullo indicated it's not a serious concern. Marte should be considered day-to-day, but at this point it doesn't appear his status for Opening Day should be affected by the injury.

Marte was replaced in center field by Daulton Varsho in Tuesday's game against the A's after possibly injuring himself running the bases, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Marte returned to the lineup Tuesday after getting hit on the foot by a pitch in Monday's game, so he may have aggravated that bruise.