MLB Player News

The Mariners reassigned Ford to minor-league camp Friday.

Ford put together a decent spring training, going 5-for-25 at the plate with six RBI. He will likely return to Triple-A for 2023, where he slashed .248/.380/.363 over 137 plate appearances last season with four different organizations.

Ohtani is set to start Opening Day against the Athletics on Thursday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Although many of his fellow World Baseball Classic participants are taking their time ramping up their activities ahead of the regular season, Ohtani will toe the rubber in the season opener fresh off a WBC championship win with Japan. The uber-talented 28-year-old produced a impressive 2.33 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 219 strikeouts over 166 innings in 28 starts with the Angels last season, in addition to his exploits as a hitter.

Alvarez went 0-for-3 in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

Alvarez took his first official at-bats of the exhibition season after dealing with a hand injury for much of camp, which was similar to the hand issues he played through last year. While he was hitless, he managed to make loud contact on a few balls that traveled deep to center field. Most importantly, Alvarez made it out of the game healthy and will turn his focus toward Opening Day.

Alvarez (hand) is in left field and batting leadoff for the Astros in Thursday's Grapefruit League game versus the Nationals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It will be the spring debut for Alvarez, who has been slowed by nagging soreness in his left hand. He's in the leadoff spot presumably in hopes that he can get in an extra plate appearance before calling it a day. Alvarez is working with a tight window to knock the rust off, but the expectation is that he'll be ready for Opening Day.

Ramirez said he's fine after taking a pitch off his left pinkie in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ramirez was pulled from the contest, but he managed to avoid any sort of significant injury. The 28-year-old is set to once again fill a semi-everyday role for the Rays in 2023 between designated hitter, first base and the corner outfield. He slashed .300/.343/.404 over 435 plate appearances in 2022 but finished with only six homers and three steals.

Ramirez was removed in the bottom of the fourth inning of Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies after being hit by a pitch in the left hand, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's possible the Rays simply removed Ramirez for precautionary purposes, but he'll presumably be checked out in the locker room by the training staff before the team provides an update on the severity of his injury. Ramirez rejoined the Rays over the past weekend following a recent stint with Team Colombia in the World Baseball Classic.

Ohtani's next start start will come Friday in a minor-league game, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani will pitch in a game on the backfields in Arizona where the Angels will be able to control the environment. The two-way star is returning to spring camp after winning MVP honors for both his pitching and hitting work in the just-concluded World Baseball Classic that his native Japan won for the third time. Ohtani likely won't pitch in any more Cactus League games with the season just a week away, but he looks ready to roll for a big 2023 campaign.

Jimenez (calf) will serve as the White Sox's designated hitter and cleanup batter in Wednesday's split-squad Cactus League game against the Royals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Jimenez exited early in Monday's game against the Diamondbacks due to what the White Sox labeled as right calf camping, and fortunately for the 26-year-old, the issue wasn't anything more severe than that. After getting Tuesday off to rest and rehydrate, Jimenez is good to go one day later. In an effort to keep Jimenez healthy following consecutive injury-riddled campaigns, the White Sox could have him see an even larger share of his work out of the DH spot rather than the corner outfield in 2023. Jimenez made 50 starts as a DH and 30 as a left fielder last season.

Buxton will be used at DH "a vast majority of the time" to begin the season, manager Rocco Baldelli told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Buxton went 1-for-3 with a double while at DH in his major league spring training debut Tuesday.

Buxton had been playing in minor-league games the past week. Buxton underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in late September, and the Twins are being very careful about easing him into action this spring. Buxton hasn't had any issues, but the Twins sound like they are going to take it cautiously with his return into the start of the regular season. Unfortunately, that could mean frequent days off and few stolen-base attempts, though keeping him healthy for a full season would still pay dividends for fantasy owners. Michael Taylor may get more playing time in center field to begin the season as a result.

Ohtani fired a scoreless inning with a strikeout to pick up a save to give Team Japan a 3-2 win over Team USA in Tuesday's World Baseball Classic final.

He also went 1-for-3 with a walk at the plate. Ohtani was named Most Valuable Player for his efforts in the tournament, as he hit .435/.606/.739 through seven games and also registered a 1.86 ERA in a pair of appearances. The strikeout was notable, as he fanned Mike Trout to end the contest and gave Japan their third WBC title in five tournaments. He did walk Jeff McNeil, but then got Mookie Betts to hit into a double play before fanning his Los Angeles teammate. Ohtani, Trout and the rest of the MLB players will now head to their spring training homes to get ready for the season.