MLB Player News

Rodriguez is one of three candidates in the race for the team's utility role on the bench, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez is competing for the job against Michael Martinez and Erik Gonzalez, both of whom had stints with the Tribe last season. Although the 24-year-old Rodriguez is the long shot, the coaches are reportedly keeping a close eye on all the possible options. Rodriguez hit .258/.293/.400 with 10 homers, 59 RBI and scored 48 runs for Triple-A Columbus last season.

Rosario, who added about 10 pounds of muscle to his frame this offseason, launched a ball off the top of the batter's eye in straightaway center field during a batting practice session Monday, The New York Daily News reports.

Although he's been added to the 40-man roster, Rosario is a long shot to see significant action in the majors this year, as the Mets would prefer he gets a full season's worth of at-bats at Triple-A before competing for the starting role at shortstop in 2018. Nonetheless, the 21-year-old blossomed as an elite prospect last season when his bat began to catch up to his glove, and further improvements in that area could accelerate the organization's timetable for him. After hitting .341/.392/.481 in 54 games at Double-A last season, don't be surprised if Rosario puts up some huge numbers in the desert for Triple-A Las Vegas in 2017.

Urias will see extended reps at shortstop during spring training, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

A well-regarded prospect for San Diego, Urias has mostly played at second base while only occasionally spending some time shortstop. However, it appears San Diego would like to see if he can play at shortstop at least semi-regularly, which would increase his positional value. At 19 years old, Urias is still has a ways to go before making his big league debut, but the Padres are hoping he can continue to develop into a starting-caliber infielder.

Hernandez is slated for a bench role after the acquisition of Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay.

He seemingly had a chance to to start at second base prior to the move, but it was widely anticipated that the Dodgers would upgrade that position, and that indeed happened. Hernandez will have to earn a utility role this spring and will face competition in the outfield (Franklin Gutierrez, Andrew Toles, Andre Ethier, Scott Van Slyke, Trayce Thompson) and to a lesser extent in the infield (Chase Utley, Rob Segedin, Chris Taylor). The Dodgers will likely keep both Utley and Hernandez as utility infielders with the latter getting occasional starts in the outfield against left-handed pitching.

With several veterans competing for the backup third base role, Arroyo will see less at-bats this spring and is destined to start the year in the minors, CSN Bay Area reports.

The Giants brought in Jimmy Rollins and Aaron Hill to compete with Conor Gillaspie for the primary backup third base role this spring. General manager Bobby Evans already acknowledged that Arroyo will lose playing time this spring because of the competition, but he also mentioned that organization "knows he can hit at this level." While that is a positive comment to hear from the GM, it also means the club has already determined that Arroyo won't be competing for a 25-man roster spot. A strong start in the minors would go a long way in forcing the Giants' hand should a spot open up in the majors at some point this season.

Andrus (groin) says he is working out at 80-90 percent of full strength and participating in all baseball activities, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The veteran shortstop underwent sports hernia surgery this offseason, but says he has no limitations on his workouts thus far and simply needs to build up his strength. Andrus is coming off perhaps the best season of his career, in which he slashed .302/.362/.439 and contributed 69 RBI. Expect the Rangers to be cautious with easing him back into action.

Andrus (groin) will report to Rangers camp on Saturday and will be brought along slowly as he recovers from his sports hernia, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Fantasy players should monitor Andrus' progress as their drafts approach, but he may not do much until spring training games start. His speed-first stock may depend heavily on how quickly he can get to 100 percent, which makes him only worth drafting in the middle to late rounds of mixed drafts.

Manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Forsythe is a top-of-the-order batter but not necessarily the Dodgers' leadoff hitter, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Late last month, Roberts said he expected Forsythe to lead off in 2017, but it seems he's backtracking on that idea. Perhaps Roberts is thinking about installing a lefty atop the order and then plugging Forsythe into the two-hole ahead of Corey Seager to go lefty-righty-lefty. Andrew Toles may be an option to set the table for Los Angeles.

Tomlinson is one of several options being considered to serve as a primary backup infielder this spring, CSN Bay Area reports.

Tomlinson has now had two stints in the majors as a backup infielder for the Giants and he has thrived in that role both times, slashing .299/.362/.377 with 10 steals in 313 career plate appearances. He doesn't offer much in the power department, but his speed makes him stand out on a roster that failed to produce a player with more than 15 steals last season. He will have to earn his spot on the roster, but Tomlinson has to be considered the early favorite to win the job heading into spring training.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said Albies (elbow) will spend the early portion of spring training rehabbing and won't play in the first few weeks of games, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Albies underwent surgery in September to address a fractured elbow, and though the 20-year-old hasn't had any major setbacks in his recovery, he'll still need a little more time to heal up. It's still expected that Albies will be ready to play by the beginning of the minor-league season, and he'll likely open 2017 at Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves have no reason to rush Albies to the big leagues after recently acquiring Brandon Phillips to man the keystone, but the promising prospect is viewed as the future at that position and could make his MLB debut at some point in the second half.