MLB Player News

The Cubs have not yet determined whether Madrigal (hamstring) will begin the season on the injured list, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Madrigal has been sidelined for most of this month with a right hamstring strain, but he's doing better and is likely to play in a minor-league game Sunday. It sounds like it's basically a coin flip as to whether he'll require an IL stint to begin the season.

Wisdom (back) will open the season on the injured list, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

It's not clear what the official diagnosis is for Wisdom's back injury, but the club hopes his stay on the IL will be a brief one. Once healthy, Wisdom is projected to see starts against left-handed pitching while shifting between third base, first base and designated hitter.

Baty may open the season in a reduced role after the Mets agreed to a contract with J.D. Martinez on Thursday, which was reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Baty and Mark Vientos were expected to begin the season as the Mets' primary options at third base and designated hitter. but Martinez will now be locked in at the latter spot. Baty should still hold down at least the strong side of a platoon at the hot corner given his left-handed bat, but given both he and Vientos have struggled to establish themselves in the majors thus far, either player could secure the full-time gig with a strong start to the campaign. Baty is also viewed as the superior defensive option, so he could simply retain the starting role with Vientos stuck on the bench or optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to begin the campaign.

Machado went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run and two walks in Thursday's 15-11 win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the Seoul Series.

San Diego built a big 9-2 lead by the middle of the third inning only to see Los Angeles fight back over the following frames. The Padres' lead was 12-11 in the top of the ninth when Machado tagged J.P. Feyereisen with a three-run blast to left field, sealing the outcome for his team. The homer was Machado's lone hit in seven at-bats during the two-game, season-opening set, but he did draw three walks. He served as San Diego's DH in both contests as he continues to work his way back from offseason elbow surgery, though the procedure doesn't seem to have impacted his ability to swing the bat.

Lipscomb has been the most surprising prospect in camp for the Nationals and has a real chance of winning a spot on the Opening Day roster, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

A third-round pick in 2022, Lipscomb climbed up to Double-A Harrisburg last year and slashed .284/.310/.438 with 10 homers and an 18.2 percent strikeout rate over 80 games. The 23-year-old won a minor-league Gold Glove at third base in 2023, but he's played second base and shortstop as well in camp while batting .372 (16-for-43) with a 5:7 BB:K. He's peaking at the right time too, slugging his first homer of the spring Wednesday off Steven Matz while going 3-for-4 with four RBI against the Cardinals. The organization doesn't view him as a future utility player and wants him to play every day, but given that the Nationals have question marks at both second base and third base in Luis Garcia and Nick Senzel, it's not out of the question Lipscomb displaces one of them in the starting lineup to begin the season.

Wisdom (back) has not shown improvement in the past few days, and the team is awaiting imaging results to determine next steps, MLB.com reports.

Wisdom's back issue was initially believed to be fairly minor, though it's somewhat concerning that he hasn't shown improvement yet. At this point, it's unclear if the 32-year-old will be ready in time for Opening Day. Wisdom would likely only have a bench role for the Cubs if healthy, so his fantasy utility may be limited this year, unless he's able to seize a larger role than expected at some point.

Suarez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's spring game against Colorado.

Suarez hit his second spring homer and is 8-for-30 with three extra-base hits and five RBI in exhibition play. After dealing with a side injury earlier in camp, Suarez told Michael Reynolds of MLB.com that he's "healthy and ready to go." He'll serve as Arizona's primary third baseman.

The Padres selected Pauley's contract Tuesday.

With Manny Machado (elbow) limited to DH duties for the time being, Pauley will join the Padres' big-league roster to give the team another option at third base until Machado is healthy enough to return to the field. Pauley began 2023 in Single-A and managed to reach Double-A before the season ended, slashing .308/.393/.538 across 551 plate appearances between three levels. The 23-year-old's bat has remained hot over the course of spring training, and he could see a few big-league starts if his performance carries over into the regular season.

The Brewers optioned Capra to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Capra was a waiver claim earlier in the offseason and always seemed destined to begin the year at Nashville. The 27-year-old will provide utility infielder depth there.

Muncy (illness) went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Monday in the Dodgers' 5-2 exhibition win over the South Korean national team in Seoul, South Korea.

In the Dodgers' final tuneup before their regular-season opener Wednesday versus the Padres in Seoul, Muncy played nine innings at third base while slotting in as the No. 5 hitter in what appeared to be manager Dave Roberts' preferred lineup configuration versus right-handed pitching. Muncy had missed some workouts last week in Arizona while battling an illness, but his ability to join the Dodgers for the trip to South Korea and play nine innings Monday sets the stage for him to be included in the lineup for both contests of the season-opening series against the Padres this week.