MLB Player News

Devers went 2-for-2 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in Tuesday's game against the Pirates.

There's no doubting Devers will hit in the majors. He's mashed spring pitching, slugging .735 with three homers, three doubles, a triple and eight RBI over 43 at-bats. The long-term question about Devers is his defense, and if he can prevent a move to designated hitter or first base. He showed off his improving skills a couple of times Tuesday, something manager Alex Cora attributed to him being in better position before the ball is hit. "Well, [last season] the ball was getting to the hitting zone and he was in the air," Cora told Ian Browne of MLB.com. "You have to have your feet on the ground. Just like a sprinter. You have to be on the ground and you go. It got to the point that he was late, reacting late and he was always getting that in-between hop."

Alvarez's chances of cracking the Orioles' Opening Day roster improved with Mark Trumbo (quadriceps) expected to open the season on the disabled list, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Trumbo is projected to serve as the Orioles' primary designated hitter this season, so if the team is looking for another power-minded bat to fill in while he's likely sidelined through early-to-mid April, Alvarez may make for a more attractive alternative than Danny Valencia, Craig Gentry or Alex Presley, who are also jockeying for bench roles. Alvarez's defensive shortcomings are well known, so if he opens the season with the big club, it's difficult to envision him sticking around for long once Trumbo returns. Alvarez, who spent the bulk of the 2017 campaign at Triple-A Norfolk and slugged 26 home runs and 31 doubles across 595 plate appearances, has gone 10-for-42 at the dish with three extra-base knocks this spring.

Valencia (calf) claimed that he could've played in Monday's Grapefruit League game if it was the regular season, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

The veteran infielder is seemingly being extra careful with his injury since it's still spring training, but it's good to hear that there is little concern about the issue. Expect Valencia to return to game action sometime in the next couple days.

Rendon went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.

Tony Two-Bags is still looking for his first homer of the spring, but he's otherwise had little difficulty getting locked in at the plate, going 10-for-28 through 13 games. New Nats manager Dave Martinez seems to have Rendon ticketed for the cleanup spot in the lineup, and hitting behind Trea Turner and Bryce Harper on a regular basis should give him more than enough opportunities to post his second consecutive 100-RBI campaign.

Urshela left Monday's game with right hamstring tightness, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Urshela suffered the injury while running to second base on a double. Until further notice, consider Urshela day-to-day. The injury comes at an unfortunate time for Urshela, as he's compiled an impressive .500 batting average and 1.369 OPS over 18 games this spring while competing with Erik Gonzalez for a reserve infield spot with the big club.

Senzel will begin the 2018 season at Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

During the 2017 season, Senzel played 62 games at High-A Daytona and 57 games at Double-A Pensacola. Between the two he combined to hit .321/.391/.514 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI. After dazzling with Pensacola and hitting .340 with a .973 OPS, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that the 22-year-old sensation will open the year at Triple-A Louisville. Although he's primarily played the hot corner to this point, Senzel will start at second base with Louisville.

Urshela left Monday's game against the Giants with an undisclosed injury, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Urshela had to be pulled from Monday's game after appearing to hurt himself while running to second and picking up a double. Heading into Monday's game, Urshela had gone 20-for-41 (.488) with three home runs over 17 outings this spring. Additional information regarding his status should be available in the near future.

Senzel was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Senzel appeared in 15 games this spring, over which he went 8-for-28 (.286) with two doubles. Senzel worked his way up to Double-A Pensacola last season, where he hit an impressive .340/.413/.560 over 57 games. Although it remains to be seen if he'll return to Pensacola for the start of the upcoming season, the 22-year-old seems bound to make his debut at Triple-A Louisville in the near future.

Asuaje is in the lead over Cory Spangenberg in the battle to become the Padres' starting second baseman, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Neither player has a particularly impressive career resume, with Asuaje hitting .266/.328/.356 over parts of two seasons and Spangenberg hitting .266/.324/.401 over parts of four. Asuaje has hit .378/.396/.711 this spring and is considered a better defender than Spangenberg, which could give him the edge.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria said Sunday that Moncada would open the season as the club's leadoff hitter, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score Chicago reports.

Moncada will probably remain a sinkhole in batting average until he dramatically curbs his 34.3 percent career strikeout rate, but his willingness to draw walks props up his on-base percentage and makes him an ideal fit in the leadoff spot. With the top-of-the-order role should come more involvement in the run game, an area where the speedy Moncada has lagged more than anticipated since reaching the majors. Moncada swiped 45 bags at a 78.9 percent success rate in the minors in 2016, suggesting he has some untapped potential as a base stealer after notching only three steals in five attempts across 251 big-league plate appearances to date.