MLB Player News

Longoria (foot) will play third base during Saturday's spring game against the Mariners, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Longoria will play in the field for the first time this spring after dealing with plantar fasciitis to begin camp. Even though Opening Day is less than a week away, Longoria should still be available for the Giants to begin the regular season.

Riley launched his first two home runs of the spring in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates, with the shots having exit velocities of 107.7 mph and 106.4 mph, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Both blasts came off JT Brubaker, who gave up only one other hit in the game. Riley got the start in right field but will be Atlanta's starting third baseman Opening Day, and the 23-year-old appears to be finding his power stroke at the right time. Riley has a lackluster .232/.288/.448 slash line and 31.2 percent strikeout rate through his first 131 big-league games, but his 26 homers and 76 RBI provide a glimpse of his upside if he can learn to make more consistent contact.

Vosler was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old inked a major-league deal with the Giants in November and had a .311/.333/.444 slash line with two home runs and 14 strikeouts in 45 at-bats during spring training, but it wasn't enough to earn a roster spot. Vosler should be in the mix for a promotion when the Giants need infield depth this season.

Vargas is slashing .344/.364/.500 through 32 Cactus League at-bats with a home run, a steal and five RBI.

Vargas has done well in his competition with Nico Hoerner and David Bote for the everyday role at second base. Eric Sogard is also in the mix, and it's unlikely that the Cubs will be able to keep everyone when they break camp. Vargas slashed .196/.222/.314 last season across 24 games with the Cubs, Diamondbacks and Twins.

Starlin Castro will get the start at third base for Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, and the Nationals may be considering alternatives to Kieboom at the position, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

While manager Dave Martinez initially said Castro getting a look at the hot corner "doesn't mean anything," he also said: "No decisions have been made yet. But we want to make sure we take the 26 best guys that we can possibly take," which could be viewed as a little more ominous for Kieboom. The 23-year-old has struggled this spring, limping to a .171/.216/.286 slash line over 37 plate appearances with a 2:11 BB:K, and the Nats may be contemplating moving Castro to third base, installing Luis Garcia at second and letting Kieboom try to regain his confidence at the alternate site and eventually Triple-A to begin the season. Working in Kieboom's favor is that Garcia has arguably been even worse than him at the plate in Grapefruit League play with a .138/.286/.172 slash line, although his 6:2 BB:K has shown promise. Even if Kieboom does make the Opening Day roster, expect him to hit toward the bottom of the Nats' order and be a risky fantasy option in the short term.

Newman went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs in Monday's loss to the Orioles.

He's batting a healthy .700 in 20 spring at-bats. Perhaps more importantly, he's running the bases well and playing solid defense, showing that he's healthy entering the season. Barring an injury during the final week of Grapefruit League, Newman is likely to begin 2021 as the team's starting shortstop, ahead of Erik Gonzalez and Cole Tucker. Fantasy owners might recall that the 27-year-old stole 16 bases in 2019, so he could prove to be a sneaky source of steals in 2021.

McMahon went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's spring win over the Rangers.

McMahon hit his third Cactus League home run of the year with a solo blast in the first inning to put the Rockies on the board. The 26-year-old has hit .250 with four extra-base hits, four walks, seven RBI, seven runs and eight strikeouts over 15 spring games this year. McMahon should see most of his playing time at third base throughout the regular season but will also be a top option to fill in at second base over the first few weeks of the year while Brendan Rodgers (hamstring) is sidelined.

Duffy went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Monday's Cactus League game against the Angels.

Duffy has been steady if not spectacular this spring, registering a .300 average and .650 OPS across 20 at-bats. The veteran infielder is on a minor-league deal and likely won't figure into the Opening Day mix for the Cubs, though he gives them a depth option for later in the season. Duffy last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the Rays, slashing .252/.343/.327 across 46 games.

Peterson aggravated his thumb injury and has been informed he won't make the Opening Day roster, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The 30-year-old dealt with the thumb issue earlier in spring training, and the issue has resurfaced since he returned to action March 10. Peterson is in camp as a non-roster invitee and will focus on getting healthy in hope of an early-season promotion after failing to make the Opening Day roster.

Anderson has gone 9-for-31 (.290) through 12 Grapefruit League games with a double, a home run and a 0:14 BB:K.

The 27-year-old saw his strikeout rate rise to 28.8 percent last season, but Anderson's 45.0 percent rate this spring is something else entirely. There's little reason to put much stock in the small spring sample, as Anderson has wielded a consistent bat for the Marlins the last two years, slashing .259/.343/.467 with 31 homers and 104 RBI in 185 games. He still has time in camp to find his timing at the plate.