MLB Player News

Burger injured his left Achilles tendon Monday, James Fegan of The Athletic Chicago reports.

Burger went down in a heap while running out a grounder to first, and he was down for several minutes before ultimately being taken off the field in a cart. Further specifics regarding the severity of injury should surface in the coming days after he's further evaluated.

Candelario suffered nothing worse than a bruised left knee after a collision in Monday's game against Baltimore, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Candelario was removed from the game after colliding with Kevin Gausman. He stayed in the game to take his at-bat but was removed for a pinch runner after working a walk. He is considered day-to-day, making it likely that he'll return to Grapefruit League action later this week.

Burger has been removed from Monday's Cactus League game against the Athletics with an apparent leg injury, James Fegan of The Athletic Chicago reports.

Burger appeared to suffer the injury while running out a groundball. He was down for several minutes before leaving on a cart. The 2017 first-round pick hit .271/.335/.409 for Low-A Kannapolis last season.

Plouffe was scratched from Monday's game against the Dodgers with left intercostal tightness, Levi Weaver of The Athletic Dallas reports.

Christian Lopes will step in to start at third base in Plouffe's place. The severity of the issue remains unclear, but more should be known shortly after he's further evaluated. It would be a tough break for Plouffe if he's forced to miss a chunk of time, as he's competing for a reserve role in camp following a disappointing 2017 campaign that saw him post a .198/.272/.318 line across 100 games between Oakland and Tampa Bay.

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.