MLB Player News

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.

Albies went 2-for-3 with two RBI in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

Hitting leadoff, the 22-year-old pushed his spring batting average up to .259 (7-for-27) through 11 games. Albies still has time to get into a groove before Opening Day, but his fantasy value will depend more on whether he hits consistently near the top of the order than it does on his performance in camp.

Rosario went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.

The young shortstop has been joined at the hip all spring with Robinson Cano, and Rosario seems to have picked up a few pointers at the plate from his Hall of Fame-caliber teammate. The 23-year-old now sports a .400/.478/.800 slash line with two homers and two steals in 20 at-bats, and given Rosario's outstanding athleticism, any skill growth could result in a breakout 2019.

Dubon (illness) is expected to be ready for the start of the Triple-A season, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

An intestinal illness cost Dubon much of the spring, and he has been working on putting back on all the weight he lost via the illness. The San Antonio Missions begin the season April 4 in Oklahoma City. He will likely join the Brewers at some point this season as a bench option if he stays healthy.