MLB Player News

Urshela will have a fair chance to earn a reserve role on the team's 2017 Opening Day roster, Fox Sports reports.

Urshela's lack of plate disciple in 2015 (20.1 percent strikeout rate in 267 at-bats) cost him a chance at being the Indians full-time third baseman. The team made the moves necessary to eliminate Urshela from the lineup and sent him to Triple-A Columbus for the entire 2016 season. Now, with Jose Ramirez locked in at the hot corner and Yandy Diaz (the Tribe's No. 10 prospect) on the horizon, Urshela seems unlikely to ever capture a starting role with the team. However, adding the 25-year-old third baseman to the roster will allow Cleveland to showcase Urshela for a possible mid-season trade, which could give his fantasy value a boost. Urshela has the tools to be a decent everyday starter, just not for his current organization.

Olt signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox on Tuesday, according to a post on Olt's Instagram account.

The Red Sox, who already grabbed Josh Rutledge in the Rule 5 draft, continue to bring in potential replacement options in the event Pablo Sandoval is not capable of handling full-time duty at third base. Olt has a career .168/.250/.330 slash line with a 37 percent strikeout rate in 400 big league plate appearances. He is a long shot to contribute in the majors this year.

Valencia could potentially see time at three different positions in 2017 while also receiving starts against either handedness of pitcher, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "Danny is there as a veteran guy who effectively can play every day," (general manager Jerry) Dipoto said. "He's been excellent against left-hand pitching. He's also been very good against righties for the last couple of years, and we're confident that first base will be an easy transition for him defensively."

The veteran lefty masher landed in Seattle as the result of one of several trades swung by general manager Jerry Dipoto this offseason, and his positional versatility is likely be exploited by his new team. Valencia is expected to primarily be part of a first-base platoon with rookie Daniel Vogelbach, but he could also see time at both right field and third base. The 32-year-old's career .321/.373/.500 line in 845 plate appearances against lefties essentially guarantees him a spot in the lineup any time the Mariners face that handedness, but his improved play against righties the last two seasons could earn him additional starts. While the team is excited about Vogelbach's potential, Valencia's veteran savvy and lively bat make for a great insurance policy. For his part, Valencia is pledging to keep himself ready and take on the mindset of an everyday starter. "I feel like that (first base) is most likely to be my primary position here, so I'll work hard just like I would if I was playing every day at third or every day in right or wherever it is," he said. "I take it seriously. I take a lot of pride in being a pretty good defensive player. I think last year my hamstring injury hurt me a little bit moving around at third base, but this year I'm fully healthy and I've had a really good offseason. I'm just excited about getting going."

Moncada, who many believe could play center field, will remain at second base in the White Sox organization, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

White Sox senior director of baseball operations Dan Fabian acknowledged the reports of some talent evaluators that feel Moncada can play the outfield, but he believes the team's top prospect has a comfort level at second and should remain there for now. "You see the reports that people think center field. As our coaches and staff see him more, we'll certainly make those considerations, but going into it we're definitely focused on giving the prime attention to developing second base right now and let's see where that ends up," said Fabian. He also reiterated the team's offseason mantra of not rushing their top prospects, though we should see Moncada at the MLB level during the 2017 season.

Moustakas said Friday that his knee is "almost 100 percent," Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports.

Now nearly eight months removed from undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, Moustakas seems confident that he's close to a full recovery. However, he did acknowledge that he will likely be put on a slower schedule than is normal during spring training. Moustakas was walking more, striking out less and hitting for more power than ever before (.260 ISO, up from .186 in 2015) before going down with the injury.

Segura is expected to open Cactus League action as the Mariners' No. 2 hitter, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

Manager Scott Servais said he will try Jarrod Dyson in the leadoff spot (at least against right-handed pitching), with Segura following in the two-hole ahead of Robinson Cano. With the offseason trade from Arizona to Seattle, Segura sees a big downgrade in home ballpark, but the Mariners seem intent on running more this year so a fifth straight season with 20-plus stolen bases seems likely.

Athletics general manager David Forst confirmed Wednesday that Plouffe would serve as the team's primary third baseman this season, CSN Bay Area's Joe Stiglich reports.

The Athletics officially inked Plouffe to a one-year contract Wednesday after he agreed in principle to the deal a week earlier, and management immediately helped clear up any ambiguity of the 30-year-old's role with his new team. Though Ryon Healy found success as the team's everyday third baseman in the second half of last season, he's expected to split most of his time between first base and DH in 2017, opening up the hot corner for Plouffe, who had been a full-time player for the Twins for much of his seven seasons in the majors. Plouffe is coming off a season in which he hit a career-best .260 over 319 at-bats, but a 31-point drop in ISO and a variety of injuries that combined to cost him roughly half the season ultimately made him a disappointment for fantasy owners. The move to Oakland probably won't aid Plouffe to a dramatic recovery in the power department, but better health alone may be enough to make him a capable corner infield option in AL-only leagues or deeper season-long formats.

Almanzar signed a minor league contract with the Tigers on Tuesday, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

The 26-year-old, who has never appeared in the majors, batted .241/.297/.380 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI across 410 at-bats with the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate last season. Although he has shown improvement across the board, Almanzar will likely stay in Triple-A another year.

Bregman will represent the United States in the World Baseball Classic, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 22-year-old Bregman, Houston's first-round pick (second overall) in 2015, has been a quick-riser through the system. After beginning 2016 at Double-A Corpus Christi, he worked his way up to MLB, where he held his own in 49 games. He's expected to start the 2017 as the Astros' starting third baseman with a spot in the upper half of the batting order.

Valencia agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Mariners on Friday, avoiding arbitration, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reports.

He was traded from Oakland to Seattle earlier this offseason in a deal that netted the A's right-hander Paul Blackburn. Valencia figures to open the season on the short side of a first base platoon with Dan Vogelbach.