MLB Player News

Moncada (illness) will start at third base and bat second in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Royals.

Moncada was scratched from the lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Reds, but the day off was apparently all he needed to overcome the illness. The 28-year-old is off to a solid start to the spring with a .343/.377/.457 slash line across 16 Cactus League games. He's expected to remain in the two hole once the regular season gets underway next week.

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.

LeMahieu (foot) did some light footwork exercises Thursday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

Kuty noted that LeMahieu was moving around "gingerly" and "definitely didn't push it." Any amount of activity is better than none, of course, after LeMahieu has been hobbling around the Yankees' spring training facility in recent days. The veteran infielder has expressed optimism that he can make it back from his right foot bone bruise in time for Opening Day, but it's definitely not a slam dunk.

Moustakas is competing with Gavin Sheets for the final roster spot with the White Sox, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Moustakas isn't currently on the 40-man roster, and he hasn't made much of a case to stick with the team with his play. Across 41 plate appearances in the Cactus League, he's struck out 29.3 percent of the time and has only two extra-base hits. Even so, he could be on the right side of the competition, as Sheets has one minor-league option remaining.

Mead appears to have won a roster spot with the Rays this spring, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mead looked to be on the wrong side of a roster crunch entering spring training, but injuries to Jonny DeLuca (hand) and Josh Lowe (oblique) have Amed Rosario projected to see more time in the outfield. With the Rays also optioning Osleivis Basabe on Monday, Mead appears to have a clear path to a roster spot. He doesn't project to start regularly, but he could get some short-side platoon at-bats and will provide insurance at both second and third base.

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.

With Gio Urshela not locked into the starting third base job yet, McKinstry may have a path to more regular playing time at the hot corner, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Petzold went on to note that McKinstry is still likely best suited for a utility role off the bench, but the uncertainty at third base could work in his favor. For now, Urshela along with Matt Vierling seem like the top options at the hot corner, with McKinstry available there and elsewhere across the diamond. The 28-year-old offers nice versatility, though he's never produced much offensively at the MLB level.

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.

Angels manager Ron Washington said he's experimenting with Rendon batting leadoff in Wednesday's Cactus League game since the team doesn't have an ideal option, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Rendon wouldn't offer much speed at the top of the lineup with just two steals in each of the past two seasons, but he does have a career 11 percent walk rate. The 33-year-old has primarily hit third or fourth since joining the Angels in 2020, but his spot in the order at this point is really secondary. Rendon has played in just 148 games over the past three seasons, and even when available he hasn't been particularly productive with a .701 OPS.