MLB Player News

Candelario was removed from Monday's game with an apparent leg injury, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Candelario came up limping after colliding with Kevin Gausman (head) behind home plate during Monday's game. While he was initially able to stay in the game and take his at-bat, drawing a walk, the 24-year-old was removed in the middle of the next at-bat and replaced by a pinch-runner. It's possible his removal was precautionary, but look for his status to be updated once he's further evaluated.

Devers is slated to hit in the middle of Boston's batting order, Jordan Shusterman of MLB.com reports.

Although Devers is just 21 years old, he's expected to bat near the middle of the lineup during the 2018 season. He teed off on left-handers last season, hitting .400 in 50 at-bats, so it seems unlikely that he'll yield too many starts to Eduardo Nunez against lefties. Devers slashed an impressive .284/.338/.482 in 2017 and will look to build on that performance during his second season in the major leagues.

Alvarez signed a minor-league contract with the Orioles on Sunday, Rich Dubroff of PressBoxonline.com reports.

Alvarez is two years removed from slugging 22 home runs as the Orioles' primary designated hitter, but the veteran first baseman spent the majority of his 2017 campaign with Triple-A Norfolk, where he slashed .239/.294/.442 over nearly 600 plate appearances. Alvarez will likely open the season in Triple-A again, where he'll serve as organization depth at designed hitter and first base.

Davis homered in two at-bats during Friday's exhibition opener against the Nationals.

A slimmed-down Davis shed 15 pounds during the offseason, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, and figures to get some work in left field this spring, the one area in the Astros' lineup where there's no set starter. He's not going to make the roster as a third baseman only, so the more versatility he can add to his portfolio, the better his chance of making it back to the big leagues. Davis appeared in 25 games for Houston in 2017, hitting .226 with four home runs and seven RBI.

MRI results on Chapman's injured right hand came back negative, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Despite the good news, lingering inflammation in Chapman's hand will likely cause him to miss a portion of spring training, although that length of time remains undetermined. When healthy, the 24-year-old projects to be Oakland's starting third baseman this season.

Bregman will start at shortstop in Friday's Grapefruit League opener, Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Bregman, who was Houston's primary third baseman last season, will be moved around the diamond this season. Bregman will get starts at shortstop and see some time at second base. Hinch appears determined to build a flexible unit after he announced Tuesday that he plans to have first baseman Yulieski Gurriel play multiple infield positions in 2018. Shortstop is nothing new to Bregman -- he played 30 games at the position last season, and it was his natural spot coming up the ranks.

Chapman underwent a precautionary MRI on his right hand in Los Angeles on Thursday, MLB.com's Jane Lee reports.

Chapman left the team's spring camp after he experience soreness in the palm of his hand. It doesn't appear as though there's too much concern over his status but more should be known once the results of his examination are released. In 2017, Chapman hit .234/.313/.472 with 14 home runs and 40 RBI in 84 contests.

Duffy (Achilles) is listed as the Rays' starting third baseman for the team's split-squad Grapefruit League game Friday against the Pirates, Steve Carney of Sports Radio 620 WDAE reports.

There haven't been any reports in the first week of spring training that Duffy has incurred any setbacks with his left Achilles' tendon, which sidelined him for the entire 2017 campaign while he recovered from a second surgery to address the injury. After Duffy was able to get in some at-bats during the Rays' fall instructional league without incident, it's not expected he'll face many limitations this spring as he aims to win an everyday role at third base. Duffy's history of foot issues may result in him abandoning the run game this season, but if he holds down a full-time gig, his solid contact skills could earn him a spot near the top of the Rays' order and make him an asset in both runs and batting average.

Bregman estimated that he reduced his body fat from roughly 14 percent to between eight and 10 percent during the offseason through improved dieting and training, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.

Though the 5-foot-10 Bregman said he still checks in roughly around the 200 pounds he weighed a season ago, a before-and-after photograph posted on Twitter last week by Dynamic Sports Training, the Houston-based facility where he trained this offseason, reveals an improved physique for the infielder. Bregman is hopeful that his offseason work to strengthen his core will translate to a full season of power production, something that didn't really show up for the 23-year-old until the second half of 2017. After the All-Star break, Bregman slashed .315/.367/.539 and came up clutch in the postseason, producing four homers off three of the game's top pitchers -- Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen -- to help lead the Astros to their first World Series title. If his offseason training regimen is any indication, Bregman looks primed to carry his momentum into 2018 and should be better equipped to avoid another early-season lull without the World Baseball Classic on the docket this spring.

Plouffe will attend the Rangers' spring training as a non-roster invitee.

With Adrian Beltre starting at third base, Plouffe will try to earn a spot on the roster as a reserve. However, if he wants to do so, he'll need to turn things around after a disappointing 2017. Plouffe hit .198 with a .590 OPS over 100 games last season, his worst marks since reaching the majors in 2010.