MLB Player News

Mead may have a clearer path to the Opening Day roster due to the injury to Jonny DeLuca (hand), Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mead may have been blocked from a roster spot with everyone healthy, but with DeLuca likely to be sidelined for the early portions of the regular season, Amed Rosario could see more time in the outfield. That shift would open a spot for a right-handed bench bat along the infield, with Mead fitting the bill. He made a very brief big-league debut in 2023, posting a .253/.326/.349 line across 92 plate appearances.

Diaz, who received a demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday after a very slow start to spring, may need to improve his conditioning in order to earn a call back up to the big-league club, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Diaz started 37 games at third base last season, but that didn't earn him enough capital to offset an .083 average across 10 Cactus League games to open spring training. The Athletics also have some viable contenders for the starting role at the hot corner, including Darell Hernaiz and Abraham Toro. As such, Diaz may have an uphill battle in the short term to log big-league at-bats, but getting into better condition will help his chances. "He's a kid that is working on certain things and understanding where he needs to be physically," manager Mark Kotsay said. "Getting to that place will help him not just this year, but for his future, too."

The Rays optioned Shenton to minor-league camp Monday.

Shenton went 7-for-27 with an 8:1 K:BB over 27 at-bats this spring. The 26-year-old had a monster 1.006 OPS with 29 home runs between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham in 2023 and is a good bet to make his MLB debut at some point this season. Shenton is primarily a corner infielder but has dabbled in left field and at second base, too, giving him multiple potential avenues to playing time with the big club.

The Rays optioned Caminero to minor-league camp Monday.

The top prospect got a cup of coffee with Tampa Bay last season, but the feeling has been for a while that Caminero was destined for Triple-A Durham to begin 2024. The 20-year-old will be making his first stop at Durham, as he skipped over that level when he was promoted in 2023. Caminero still has a good shot to spend ample time in the majors in 2024, particularly if he can make some strides with his defense.

Vosler signed a minor-league contract with the Mariners on Saturday.

Seattle assigned Vosler to Triple-A Tacoma immediately after his signing, so he doesn't appear as though he'll receive the chance to compete for a spot on the Mariners' Opening Day roster and will instead serve as organizational corner-infield depth. Vosler spent the entire 2023 campaign as a member of the Reds organization, hitting .161 with three home runs and 10 RBI across 65 plate appearances at the big-league level and posting an .815 OPS over 363 plate appearances at Triple-A Louisville.

The White Sox optioned Ramos to Double-A Birmingham on Monday.

Ramos has yet to play above the Double-A level and was never under serious consideration for a spot on the White Sox's Opening Day squad, despite entering his second season as a member of the 40-man roster. He'll head back to Birmingham to begin the 2024 campaign after he slashed .271/.369/.457 with 14 home runs across 339 plate appearances with the affiliate in 2023.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Monday that Jung (calf) is expected to play in the team's final two exhibition games March 25 and 26 versus the Red Sox at Globe Life Field, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

If those two games wind up being the only two exhibition contests that Jung plays, it may not be sufficient enough for him to gain clearance for Opening Day on March 28 against the Cubs. However, the Rangers don't appear to have ruled out Jung being ready for the start of the regular season. Jung has been slowed by a left calf strain in camp, and while a recent MRI showed healing, he hasn't yet been cleared for running.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said earlier this month that Moncada will serve as the team's No. 2 hitter this season, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports.

Moncada mostly hit fourth or fifth during his injury-shortened 2023 season but will slide up to the No. 2 spot to start the 2024 campaign. He'll be preceded by Andrew Benintendi and likely followed by Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn. Moncada has battled through chronic back and leg problems the past two seasons but is fully healthy this spring and has slashed .348/.464/.435 during Cactus League play.

Alvarez remains a longshot to break camp with the Athletics, but he is making an impression with his bat in Cactus League play, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The career minor-leaguer had his best game of spring Saturday, going 3-for-3 with a solo home run that traveled 423 feet to left field, per Gallegos. Alvarez has put together several impressive Triple-A stints since 2019 in which he's showcased some decent power, but he's yet to log a regular-season major-league at-bat. The 29-year-old has experience playing across the infield, and given his .539 average over eight Cactus League games thus far, he may be on his way to forcing manager Mark Kotsay into a difficult decision come final cutdowns.

Diaz was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday.

Diaz had a rough go of it with the A's in Cactus League play, batting .083 with a double and two runs scored while striking out three times over 24 at-bats in 10 contests. He'll now look to get right with the Aviators before he inevitably gets another shot with the major-league roster in 2024.