MLB Player News

Marte flew out in his only at-bat in Saturday's spring training loss to the Angels. He's hitting .261 (12-for-46) this spring and remains in the shortstop competition with Chris Owings and Nick Ahmed.

Owings is hitting .409 and looks like the leading candidate for the starting job, but a decision may not come until next week. If he can show signs of getting on base at a clip closer to his 2015 level in Seattle, Marte could become a threat to overtake Owings for the starting job at short at some point this season.

Drury, who is hitting .408 with a 1.064 OPS this spring, has won the starting second base job, manager Torey Lovullo told ArizonaSports.com. "Offensively he's having a great spring, but we knew he was built around offense and that was going to be, really, the non-issue for him," Lovullo added. "So he should be proud of himself for how he's addressed the needs defensively, he's been really good."

With Drury locked in at second base, Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed and Ketel Marte are battling for the starting shortstop job. Drury hit 16 home runs and compiled a .786 OPS last season and could take a bigger step forward in the power department in 2017 with steady at-bats at a set position after playing the infield and outfield last season.

Adames is 11-for-42 (.262) with three home runs in 23 Cactus League games.

Adames is incorporating first base into his defensive repertoire in an effort to land an Opening Day roster spot, and his bat is helping to strengthen his argument. However, the power surge might not be enough to help the switch-hitter punch his ticket to the big leagues, as Jordan Patterson and Stephen Cardullo seem to be the front-runners to fill the void left after Ian Desmond (hand) went down due to injury.

Albies was reassigned to minor league camp Tuesday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

After a very impressive, if short, spring training stint with the Braves, Albies will begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett and look to improve on last season's .248/.307/.351 line. While the 20-year-old would seem to be blocked at the major league level by Brandon Phillips, the Braves are only on the hook for $1 million of Phillips' 2017 salary. Once the front office decides Albies is ready and has delayed the start of his service time clock sufficiently to ensure an extra year of control, expect the organization's No. 4 prospect to get the call.

Sweeney was assigned to the minors Tuesday, The Orange County Register reports.

The 26-year-old was acquired by the Dodgers this past offseason, but he was never considered a candidate to make the Opening Day roster. The utility man performed well in camp, batting .297 with a pair of home runs in 21 Cactus League games. He will likely start the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City and could get a call to the majors if injuries strike the big-league club.

Solarte was back in the Padres lineup Monday, going 1-for-3 in a win over the Rangers.

The 29-year-old was participating in the World Baseball Classic for Team Venezuela. Manager Andy Green expressed concerns that his infielder wasn't receiving enough playing time in the tournament (3-for-6 in five games), so it would make sense for Solarte to see regular at-bats in the final couple weeks of spring training to get back up to speed with his teammates. The switch-hitting infielder had a career year last season, hitting .286 with 15 home runs and 71 RBI in 443 plate appearances. Assuming good health, he should easily surpass 500 plate appearances as an everyday player and gain second base eligibility (if he didn't already possess it), making him a potentially undervalued asset.

Manager Brian Snitker confirmed that Albies is not seriously injured after fouling a ball off his knee during Tuesday's spring game, David O'Brien of AJC.com reports.

Snitker also said he believes Albies could be ready to play after the team's off day on Wednesday, so it doesn't appear to be more than just a knock. The 20-year-old will begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, but he has a good chance to crack the big leagues with his talent and advanced feel for hitting.

Albies exited Tuesday's spring game after apparently fouling a ball off his knee, David O'Brien of AJC.com reports.

Albies tried to shake it off and continue his at-bat, but he had to exit after seeing a couple pitches. There is no word on his condition yet, so consider him day-to-day until the Braves update his status.

Diaz is 6-for-11 (.545) with a home run, three doubles and four RBI in six spring games with the Brewers.

Diaz reached the Low-A level last year for the first time and will likely open this season with High-A Carolina, but that did not prevent the Brewers from letting him show what he can do with the big club this spring, and he's responded in impressive fashion. The Brewers can be patient with him thanks to the middle-infield depth at the top levels of their system, but he could push his way up the ranks quicker than expected if he keeps hitting like he has this spring and like he did in 2016, when he posted an .827 OPS over 135 games with Wisconsin.

Arroyo was optioned to the minors Sunday, CSN Bay Area reports.

Arroyo left major league camp with a bang, smacking a two-run home run in a loss to the Brewers. The Giants want to give their top hitting prospect regular plate appearances in the minors, as opposed to seeing sporadic time as a bench bat behind Eduardo Nunez, so this move was to be expected. The 21-year-old has progressed well since being drafted out of high school back in 2013. Arroyo may still be a year or two away from a regular role, but he projects to be San Francisco's third baseman of the future.