MLB Player News

Chapman could play third base during Friday's Cactus League matchup if he feels good after Wednesday's game, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Chapman will serve as the designated hitter once again during Wednesday's matchup against the Rockies as the team continues to ease him back into action following offseason hip surgery. Assuming he checks out fine after Wednesday's game, he's expected to make his defensive debut after Thursday's off day. The 27-year-old has gone 1-for-3 with a double and one strikeout to begin Cactus League play.

Rendon (undisclosed) is starting Wednesday's Cactus League matchup against the Rangers.

Rendon was held out of the first few spring games of the season due to what was described as "soreness," but he'll play third base and bat fourth against Texas on Wednesday. Barring any setbacks, the 30-year-old should still have plenty of time to prepare for Opening Day following his brief absence.

Moncada started at third base and went 1-for-2 with two runs scored in Tuesday's spring game against the Rangers.

Moncada appeared for the first time in the field since he experienced arm soreness over the final week of February. "His stroke looks really good on both sides of the plate," manager Tony La Russa told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. "He's moving well." Moncada was limited to DH duties but should be back to normal at third base.

Rendon (soreness) will likely play his first spring training game either Wednesday or Thursday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Rendon has thus far been held out of action due to what has been described only as "soreness," but the issue appears to be a minor one given his looming debut. The veteran third baseman is slated to be a key offensive cog as the Angels' cleanup hitter behind Mike Trout.

Chapman started at designated hitter and doubled in three at-bats during Monday's Cactus League win over the Reds.

The Athletics had already announced their intention to ease Chapman back into his third-base role after offseason hip surgery, so the start at DH wasn't unexpected. The 27-year-old laced a thunderous two-bagger in his final at-bat before calling it an afternoon, and Martin Gallegos of MLB.com notes Chapman is slated to make his defensive debut following Oakland's off day Thursday.

Moncada (arm) will start at third base and will bat second in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Rangers.

After reporting to camp last week with a sore arm, Moncada was limited to designated-hitter duties in his Cactus League debut Sunday against the Brewers. He played all six innings of the White Sox's 7-2 loss, going 0-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored. The White Sox were apparently satisfied with how Moncada came out of that contest, so he'll now take on a defensive role in his second game of the spring. The 25-year-old looks like he'll face no further limitations due to the arm injury heading into Opening Day.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he expects Urshela (elbow) to make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Phillies, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Urshela hasn't faced any strict limitations thus far at camp, but the Yankees have been deliberately bringing him along slowly after he underwent surgery in December to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Boone didn't specify whether Urshela would start at third base Thursday like he normally would in the regular season or if the 29-year-old's spring debut will come as a designated hitter.

Paredes (visa issues) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday against the Phillies, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Paredes didn't arrive last week for the start of workouts for position players, but he's since resolved his immigration status. Though he'll be on the bench for Monday's game against the Yankees, the Tigers want him to put in another workout or two before clearing him for his spring debut. The 22-year-old is the leading candidate to serve as the Tigers' Opening Day starter at third base.

Rendon won't play in Monday's Cactus League contest against the White Sox due to soreness, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Rendon is heading into his age-31 season and hasn't had a perfect health track record in recent seasons, missing 11.9 percent of his team's games over the last four years. There haven't been any indications that this particular injury is anything serious, however, so this is probably just an example of the Angels being extra cautious with their early-spring lineups. Rendon has plenty of time to get up to speed by Opening Day, which is now exactly a month away.

Toro started at third base and went 0-for-2 in Sunday's spring game against the Marlins.

Toro slotted in for the injured Alex Bregman (hamstring) in the spring opener for both teams. Bregman has been dealing with a sore hamstring and limited to hitting during workouts. The injury is not considered serious, and his absence from the lineup Sunday was expected. Toro appears to be the top fill-in at the hot corner, but he's been working to develop defensively at first base and left field during camp.