MLB Player News

Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams said Monday that he expects Suarez (shoulder) to be "full go" when the season resumes, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "As always with rehab, there are periods of progress and then times to back off. Overall, we believe [Suarez has] benefited from the extra downtime," Williams said.

Despite undergoing right shoulder surgery Jan. 28, Suarez previously maintained optimism that he would be ready to go March 26 for the Reds' originally scheduled season opener, so MLB's two-month hiatus has only further helped him move past the injury. Considering Suarez had been scheduled to make his spring debut March 13 as a designated hitter, the 28-year-old should slide back into the lineup immediately whenever the Reds are cleared to resume training. Suarez is coming off a career season in 2019 in which he hit .271 with 49 home runs and 103 RBI in 159 games.

Riley would be one of Atlanta's primary options at designated hitter if the universal DH is part of a shortened MLB season, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Having the DH available would solve the team's dilemma at third base, where Riley and Johan Camargo seemed to be in a dead heat for the starting job when spring training was suspended. As Camargo is the superior defender, Atlanta would be able to get both bats into the lineup with Riley at DH. The other likely DH scenario for the club would see Marcell Ozuna handle the position on occasion to take advantage of the club's outfield depth -- depth which could include top prospects Cristian Pache and Drew Waters as part of a taxi squad, if they have no minor-league season to participate in.

Davis remains the likely starter in left field for the Mets when the regular season begins, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The delayed start to the season does open up the possibility that Yoenis Cespedes (ankle) could be healthy enough for regular duty, but Davis is still expected to hang onto the job after his impressive .307/.369/.527 performance at the plate last season. In the long term, however, the 27-year-old will need to improve his defense as well if he's to become a fixture in left field.

Muncy stated that he has been hitting in a cage "a couple times a week" but is "trying not to overdo it" in an interview with John Hartung of Spectrum SportsNet LA.

"Once things start up...it's going to be a lot of games in a short period of time," Muncy theorized in explaining his rationale for wanting to stay fresh during MLB's hiatus. The 29-year-old is slated to take on a near-everyday role as the Dodgers' starting first baseman in 2020, with occasional time at second base.

Sosa would be highly likely to return to the big-league club if rosters are expanded to 30 players for the 2020 season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Goold provides his assessment on the versatile utility asset in a response to a reader question about what players the Cardinals might opt to carry were they afforded four extra spots to work with. Sosa makes the cut in Goold's eyes due to the 24-year-old's ability to fill in at shortstop and the fact he's already on the 40-man roster. Sosa has just 13 regular-season big-league plate appearances to his name, but he swatted a pair of doubles and home runs apiece during Grapefruit League play and generated a solid .291/.335/.466 line with 40 extra-base hits (18 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs) across 496 plate appearances at Triple-A Memphis in 2019.

Muncy spent time this offseason working on his approach to offspeed pitches, Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider reports.

Despite making his first All-Star team last season, Muncy struggled against offspeed offerings, batting a paltry .197 against such pitches, per Statcast. That was a significant dropoff in comparison to his 2018 campaign during which he batted .268 against offspeed pitches. As a result, Muncy consulted with Dodgers hitting coaches Brant Brown and Robert Van Scoyoc in the offseason, both of whom flew to Texas to work with the slugger. Muncy also spent time addressing his defensive mechanics -- in particular his footwork -- in an effort to shore up a second self-perceived area in need of improvement. The 29-year-old is expected to play primarily at first base in 2020, though he should also see some time at second base.

Riley would likely have been on Atlanta's Opening Day roster had the regular season begun as scheduled, even if he wasn't the starting third baseman, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The club headed into the spring with Riley battling Johan Camargo for the starting job at the hot corner, and the loser was expected to head down to Triple-A Gwinnett to get consistent playing time. During an interview Friday, however, GM Alex Anthopoulos suggested that both had been playing so well in camp that the battle could have continued into the regular season. "Camargo, Riley were playing unbelievably well," Anthopoulos told Fox Sports broadcaster Chip Carey. "We hadn't made a decision yet of who we were going to carry. We had started to talk about - the fact that the minor-league season was scheduled to start on April 9 and we were starting March 26 - we started to talk about carrying both. There's no reason to leave them down in Florida. They'd both been playing well enough to make the team." Once games finally do resume, the duo will pick the competition back up, but if Riley can reduce his strikeouts he remains the favorite in the long run to seize the job.

Nevin has been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque.

The Rockies have mentioned Nevin and Colton Welker as potential options at first base in the future, given that they are both close to the majors and Colorado seems likely to decline Daniel Murphy's mutual option for 2021. Nevin took advantage of the hitter-friendly conditions at Asheville and Lancaster in 2017 and 2018, but his slash line dipped to .251/.345/.399 in the more neutral conditions at Double-A Hartford.

Newman is expected to serve as the Pirates' primary leadoff man in 2020, though he could also slot third ahead of cleanup hitter Josh Bell occasionally, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

After hitting seventh at the beginning of last year, Newman took full advantage of his opportunity to bat atop the order -- the 26-year-old slashed .328/.374/.502 in 75 games as a leadoff hitter. It remains to be seen how long he'll stick at shortstop, though. He ranked 22nd of 25 with a minus-1.7 dWAR (min. 800 innings). If Pittsburgh trades second baseman Adam Frazier, then Newman could shift to second, with standout defensive prospect Cole Tucker taking over at short. Regardless of where Newman plays in the field, his ability to hit for a high batting average and steal bases -- he swiped 16 bags in 24 tries in 2019 -- gives him fantasy value in two categories.

Longoria went 5-for-25 with two doubles and four RBI in 10 games prior to the suspension of spring training.

The veteran third baseman is poised for another season starting at the hot corner for San Francisco, though he didn't find much success before Cactus League play was suspended. Longoria finished 2019 with a .254/.325/.437 slash line, 20 home runs and 69 RBI in 129 contests.