MLB Player News

Machado (back) will start at third base and bat second in Monday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.

After two days off to recover from back tightness, Machado will check back into the starting nine and keep himself on track to be ready to go for Opening Day. The 29-year-old has appeared in three Cactus League games thus far, going 2-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored.

Burger is dealing with left ankle discomfort following Sunday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers.

Burger came off the bench Sunday and singled in his lone plate appearance. However, he was removed from the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and is considered day-to-day.

Peraza was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

Peraza was in major-league camp but unsurprisingly didn't make the Opening Day roster with only eight games at Triple-A under his belt. He spent most of 2021 at Double-A Somerset and hit .294/.348/.466 with 12 home runs, 40 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 79 contests.

Paredes was hit by a pitch on his right hand and exited Sunday's Grapefruit League game, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Initial reports suggest Paredes avoided serious injury, with manager A.J. Hinch stating that "initial indications are positive." Nevertheless, Paredes will be re-tested Monday and is officially deemed day-to-day. He's projected to a fill a utility infield role for the Tigers once the regular season begins.

Escobar went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

The veteran infielder took Kyle Finnegan, one of the Nats' potential closing options, deep in the sixth inning. Escobar is coming off a strong 2021 campaign split between Milwaukee and Arizona in which he slugged 28 homers and racked up 90 RBI over 146 games, and the switch hitter is expected to give the Mets a similar jolt of power from the bottom half of their batting order as the team's regular third baseman.

Machado (back) is not in the lineup for Sunday's Cactus League game against the Guardians, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The 29-year-old was scratched from Saturday's lineup with back tightness and will remain sidelined for Sunday's contest. Manager Bob Melvin said there's no worry about Machado's status for Opening Day, but it's still worth keeping an eye on the third baseman's status until he's able to retake the field.

Moustakas (shoulder) is batting second as the designated hitter in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Rockies, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Moustakas had been held out of the lineup since Tuesday, when he injured his left shoulder making a diving attempt in the field. The 33-year-old's return to the lineup is a good sign for his Opening Day availability, but the coast may not be fully clear until he's back playing defense.

Castro was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.

As a rookie in 2021, Castro hit five home runs with a .198 batting average in 93 plate appearances. Michael Chavis and Hoy Park will serve as the bench infielders for now, but neither have fantasy relevancy outside of NL-only leagues.

Devers went 2-for-3 with two solo home runs in Saturday's spring training game against the Rays.

Devers deposited the first pitch he saw from Corey Kluber over the right-center field fence in the first. Two innings later, he took Kluber deep again, this time needing three pitches. Devers is off to a quick Grapefruit League start with three homers and four RBI across 12 at-bats. The durable 25-year-old has missed just 15 games over the last three seasons and batted .291 with 81 home runs, 107 doubles and 271 RBI during that time.

Miranda (jaw) entered Saturday's game against Atlanta as a substitute, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Miranda left Friday's game against the Pirates with a bruised jaw after getting struck in the face by an errant throw, but he avoided serious injury. He's back in action just one day later, so he should be able to continue making his push for an Opening Day roster spot. Whether or not he'll be given a legitimate chance to break camp with the team is unclear, but he could eventually be part of the plan to replace Josh Donaldson at third base.