MLB Player News

Rengifo and Franklin Barreto are competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster in a utility role, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Both players are enjoying a productive spring, with Rengifo posting a .350/.462/.550 slash line, seven RBI and a pair of steals. Meanwhile, Barreto has slashed .368/.429/.684 while collecting four extra-base hits and one stolen base. Barreto may have the leg up because he is out of minor-league options, though Rengifo has demonstrated the ability to play all over the field.

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.

Semien has gone 6-for-28 (.214) through 11 Grapefruit League games with a double, a home run and a 4:7 BB:K.

The former Athletic is adjusting to life with a new team and at a new position as he converts from shortstop to second base for the Jays. Semien appears to be handling the switch well from a defensive perspective, and while he's coming off a disappointing 2020 at the plate, the 30-year-old slashed .285/.369/.522 the season before with a career-high 33 homers, 92 RBI and 123 runs. In a loaded Toronto lineup, Semien won't be one of the core pieces as he was in Oakland, but he could still provide strong fantasy numbers.

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.

Altuve went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's spring game against the Cardinals.

Altuve batted leadoff for the third time in four games, as manager Dusty Baker auditions more candidates for the top of the order. Myles Straw got most of the at-bats early in Grapefruit League play followed by Carlos Correa and now Altuve. Whether or not he bats leadoff, Altuve will slot into the top third of the order.

Haggerty, battling for a utility role on the Opening Day roster, went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBI and a run in a Cactus League win over the Royals on Tuesday.

Despite hitting out of the bottom of the order, Haggerty had quite a busy night enhancing his case to stick on the Opening Day roster, providing the Mariners' only three-hit effort in an offensive barrage. Haggerty boosted his spring average to .269 with Tuesday's production, which snapped him out of the 1-for-14 slump that encompassed his previous six exhibitions.

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.

Lowe went 1-for-2 with a double and a run in a Grapefruit League win over the Orioles on Tuesday, with the two-bagger serving as his first extra-base hit across 23 spring plate appearances.

The 2019 All-Star has been scuffling at the plate for the most part this spring, although he does have four walks and three RBI alongside three total hits. That still leaves Lowe's average at .167 through nine exhibitions, but his .270/.347/.530 slash over the last two seasons (551 PAs) supports the notion he'll eventually snap out of his doldrums.

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.