MLB Player News

Vargas was invited to the Dodgers' major-league spring training Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Vargas looked good at the Low-A and High-A levels in 2019, hitting .308/.380/.440 while stealing 13 bases, but the canceled minor-league schedules last year prevented him from continuing up the ladder. He'll need to prove himself in the upper minors before pushing for a roster spot.

Stott will join the Phillies at spring training as part of the team's minor-league mini-camp.

Stott won't technically be part of big-league camp but will get to be around the major-league team for a few weeks. He's still a year or two away from joining the team on a permanent basis, however, as he's played just 48 professional games, none of which have come in full-season ball.

Marte could see most of his time in center field in 2021 after the Diamondbacks signed Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

The Diamondbacks appear to view the switch-hitting Cabrera as a third baseman, who could force Eduardo Escobar to second base on days when he starts. The domino effect of that is Marte moving off second to center field, where he primarily played in 2019. Marte played 41 of 45 games in 2020 at second base.

The Cardinals plan to have Gorman take reps in the outfield and at second base in addition to third base during spring training, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Gorman has played exclusively at third base through his first four professional seasons, but he won't have a clear path to that position at the big-league level following the Cardinals' recent acquisition of Nolan Arenado, who would remain under contract through 2027 if he elects not to exercise opt-out clauses following the 2021 or 2022 seasons. As a result, the Cardinals are eager to expose the top prospect to other positions in order to find more playing time for him when he eventually reaches the majors. If Gorman's initial returns at outfield or second base aren't encouraging, he would still have a future with the Cardinals as a designated hitter, given the likelihood that the next collective bargaining agreement will make room for another hitter in National League lineups.

The Brewers announced Wednesday that Turang will attend big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The 21-year-old is among a handful of the Brewers' top prospects who will get the opportunity to showcase his skills at big-league camp before likely being reassigned to the minors shortly before Opening Day. Since the 2020 minor-league season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Turang's last affiliated-ball action came in 2019, when he split time between Low-A Wisconsin and High-A Carolina. Though Turang provided a lowly .707 OPS between the two levels, the Brewers could still choose to have him open 2021 at Double-A Biloxi to make up for the lost developmental year.

Peguero was invited to Pittsburgh's big-league spring training Tuesday.

Peguero presumably won't be auditioning for a job on the Opening Day roster, as he's just 20 years old and is yet to advance to full-season ball. He's yet to play in a game for the Pirates' organization after coming over from Arizona in the Starling Marte trade in January of 2020 but did get to participate in the team's player pool last year.

Gonzales will join the Pirates' major-league camp this spring.

Gonzales is highly unlikely to be given the chance to actually compete for a roster spot, as the canceled minor-league season robbed last year's seventh overall pick from making his professional debut. He'll get the opportunity to work with the Pirates' big-league coaching staff this spring in hopes of joining that group on a permanent basis sometime in the next few years.

Frazier agreed to a one-year, $4.3 million contract with the Pirates on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Frazier has typically graded out pretty well in the field but was pretty unlucky at the plate last season. He has a career .303 BABIP but that mark was down to .246 in 2020, leading to a career-worst .230 batting average. Most projection systems expect him to get back up in the .265 range, but he probably won't chip in enough home runs or stolen bases to be sought after in most formats.

Drury signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Friday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The 28-year-old appeared in 21 games in 2020 for the Blue Jays and had a .358 OPS in 49 plate appearances before being designated for assignment at the start of September. Drury provides organizational infield depth for the Mets after the departures of Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez in the trade for Francisco Lindor.

Kim reached a deal with the Padres on Monday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old was an all-around star in Korea, hitting .306/.397/.523 with 30 homers and 23 steals this past season, all while primarily playing shortstop. There's a Fernando-Tatis-shaped obstacle preventing him from playing that position for the Padres, however, with Manny Machado blocking third base, the other spot at which he's spent a fair amount of time. San Diego presumably wouldn't have outbid the rest of the league for his services without the intention of having him in the lineup on a regular basis somewhere, though, so it's likely he factors into the picture at second base or possibly even in the outfield. While Kim's all-around dominance in Korea probably translates more to all-around competency at the MLB level, he's still quite likely to be a useful option for the Padres and fantasy players whenever he's on the field.