MLB Player News

The Pirates reassigned Franklin (hamstring) to their minor-league camp Monday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Franklin picked up a right hamstring injury early in camp and never played in any Grapefruit League games, ruining his slim chances of breaking camp with the big club. Unless he demonstrates some meaningful progress over the next week or two, he'll likely open the season on the injured list at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Frazier went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks against the Red Sox on Sunday. He also stole his first base.

The 27-year-old, who is hitting .333 in Grapefruit League action, is expected to serve as Pittsburgh's leadoff batter. While he hasn't accumulated more than 406 at-bats in any of his three seasons, he's heading into 2019 as the team's clear starter at second base for the first time. As a result, Frazier is looking to build upon his career slash line of .280/.345/.422, knowing his bat will be in the lineup most games as a mostly helpful fantasy contributor in batting average.

The Mets reassigned Espinosa to minor-league camp Sunday.

Espinosa was a non-roster invitee in camp after signing a minor-league deal with the Mets in February, and his chances to make the Opening Day roster were always slim given the team's infield acquisitions this offseason. The 31-year-old didn't help himself this spring as he went 2-for-30 with one home run.

Dubon (illness) will serve as the designated hitter Saturday in a minor-league game with Triple-A San Antonio.

Dubon's availability for the contest confirms that he's continued to progress well in his recovery from an intestinal illness and should be ready to go when San Antonio starts its regular season in April. The 24-year-old will probably make his MLB debut at some point in 2019 but isn't likely to be anything more than a utility man.

The Rockies reassigned Rodgers to their minor-league camp Saturday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Rodgers appears on track to debut with the Rockies at some point in 2019, but cracking the Opening Day roster was always an unlikely outcome. With Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado locked in long term on the left side of the infield, Rodgers should see most of his action at second base at Triple-A Albuquerque this season in preparation for an eventual move to the big leagues. The Rockies will first see if either Garrett Hampson or Ryan McMahon can be a viable option at second base before potentially giving Rodgers a look.

The Cubs reassigned Short to their minor-league camp Saturday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear if the Cubs will assign Short to Triple-A Iowa to begin the season or book him for a return trip to Double-A Tennessee, where he spent the entire 2018 campaign. The 23-year-old delivered a strong .356 on-base percentage across 524 plate appearances in the Southern League, but a career-worst 26 percent strikeout rate factored heavily into his lackluster .227 batting average.

Adames was mentioned by manager Joe Maddon as a possible candidate for the Opening Day roster should Daniel Descalso (shoulder) start the season on the injured list, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Adames spent the entirety of last season in the minors and owns an ugly .206/.283/.278 line in 343 career big-league plate appearances. He's swung a hot bad this spring, though, hitting .438 with three homers in 15 games.

Albies is a candidate to lead off against lefties this season, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Albies spent stretches early last season as the Braves' leadoff hitter, finding himself in that spot 40 times, though he didn't lead off in a single game in the second half of the year. The switch hitter posted a rather poor .213/.283/.412 line against righties last season but hit an excellent .335/.357/.548 against southpaws.

McNeil went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Hitting leadoff and playing left field, McNeil pushed his spring slash line up to .321/.321/.571 through 28 at-bats. The Mets still aren't sure whether they'll need him at third base to begin the season, or let him continue his transition to the outfield, but wherever he plays the 26-year-old figures to hit.

Cubs general manager Theo Epstein said the organization hasn't determined whether to push Hoerner and start him at Double-A Tennessee, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The fact that this is even being discussed is indicative of just how impressive Hoerner has been this spring, albeit in only nine Cactus League at-bats. The 2018 first-round pick has a 2.194 OPS and has looked the part of a major league regular in camp. Hoerner finished last season by playing four games with Low-A South Bend, so he was expected to start 2019 at that level or maybe with High-A Myrtle Beach, but it sounds like he could move up the ladder quickly.