MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Wednesday that Stanton (calf) is fully healthy and will be ready to go for Opening Day, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. "He's pretty much over the hump," Boone said. "He's pretty much run aggressively and done the things necessary. If and when we begin spring training games, he would likely be ready to roll for that."

The Yankees are one of the big winners of MLB's decision to suspend its season at least eight weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. The team now has a good chance to have three key players -- Stanton, Aaron Judge (rib) and James Paxton (back) -- available for Opening Day, when all initially appeared set to begin the season on the injured list. Look for Stanton to occupy his familiar spot in the heart of the order whenever MLB sets a firm target date for the start of the season.

Buxton (shoulder) would have been in the Opening Day lineup had the season started on time Thursday, manager Rocco Baldelli told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Buck's rehab could not have gone smoother," Baldelli said. "Physically, mentally, he's in a tremendous spot."

Buxton underwent surgery on his torn labrum in September, which placed his availability for Opening Day in question. However, he would have been ready for Opening Day had it started on time. He now looks set to begin the season as Minnesota's starting center fielder whenever the MLB season begins.

Reyes is expected to open the year as a corner outfielder while Domingo Santana starts at designated hitter, MLB.com's Mandy Bell reports.

Reyes and Jordan Luplow are the frontrunners to start in the corner outfield spots, according to Bell, while Oscar Mercado is set to start in center field while Delino DeShields works as the fourth outfielder. Jake Bauers could also make the team as a fifth outfielder and Tyler Naquin (knee) could be healthy by the time the season starts, which would likely push Luplow to the short side of a platoon. Reyes came into camp 18 pounds lighter, and while he probably still won't be great in the outfield, Santana is one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball, so this alignment makes sense if Cleveland is intent on starting Santana. Reyes has only ever started in right field and DH in his career.

Ford's likelihood of making the Opening Day roster is lessened with the probable return to health of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge by the start of the regular season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

While Ford's big bat appeared to give him a leg up on a roster spot prior to the suspension of spring training, the delay to the start of the regular season figures to reduce available bench spots by two due to the anticipated return of both Judge and Stanton. Thairo Estrada, Tyler Wade and Rosell Herrera are all candidates for an Opening Day roster spot, which could bump Ford back to the minors, especially considering his limited versatility in the field. Ford didn't help his chances in spring training, as he hit .194 with only one home run during Grapefruit League play.

Ohtani (elbow) has continued to play catch on flat ground and may throw off a mound in a couple weeks, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani had thrown off a mound nearly a month ago, though that session was described as low-effort work. Presumably, he's now ramping up the intensity of his throwing program as the team's goal remains for him to retake the mound in mid-May for game action.

Reyes went 12-for-27 with five home runs, 11 RBI and a stolen base across 10 games in spring training.

Reyes lost 18 pounds over the offseason, and it was clear from the start that he was feeling good at the dish. He clubbed 37 home runs and drove in 81 runs across 150 contests in 2019 and is expected to spend the majority of his time in the designated hitter slot for Cleveland once the 2020 campaign gets underway.

Stanton (calf) would be playing in spring training games if they were being played, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Stanton's calf strain that he suffered back in February was expected to keep him out until sometime in April. The delayed start to the season means he should have no trouble making it back for whenever Opening Day ends up being, but he's apparently doing well enough that he's already healthy enough for exhibition game action. The slugger's stock should be rising again based on the fact that he won't be opening the season on the injured list, though whether or not he can remain injury-free remains an open question.

The Astros hope to have Alvarez (knee) play left field more frequently this season than he did as a rookie, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Heading into the 2020 season, Alvarez will likely only be eligible as a utility player in most fantasy leagues after logging 74 appearances as a designated hitter in 2019 and only 10 in the outfield. The slugging 22-year-old is still expected to slot in as the Astros' primary DH in his sophomore campaign, but Alvarez could still see a boost in his field work on the occasions manager Dusty Baker wants to give veteran corner outfielders MIchael Brantley and/or Josh Reddick a breather. Before MLB suspended its season March 12, Alvarez had been sidelined with soreness in both knees, but he's expected to be healthy once baseball resumes in mid-May or later.

Brantley hit .316 (6-for-19) with a home run, a double, three walks, four RBI and three runs scored over eight Grapefruit League games.

The health concerns of 2016 and 2017, when Brantley played a combined 101 games, have been mostly put to rest as he recorded a second straight season of more than 600 plate appearances in 2019. The 32-year-old outfielder picked up this spring where he left off last season, when he hit .311/.372/.503 while launching a career-high 22 home runs. He'll be the Astros' starting left fielder in 2020 while slotting into the top half of the batting order where the potent Houston lineup gives him ample opportunity to score and drive in runs.

Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said he has been impressed by Cabrera's bat speed this spring and thinks the veteran can be an "impact" player this season, Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket reports.

Gardenhire said Cabrera's body "wouldn't let him do his thing" last season but added that the 36-year-old looked much better before spring training was suspended. "He's moving well, he looks great, you can tell he feels great," Gardenhire said. "He's eating great. And he's got bat speed he didn't have last year." The veteran Cabrera hit a solid .282/.346/.398 in 2019, but he was only able to provide 12 home runs and 59 RBI in 136 games. He hasn't topped 20 home runs or 100 RBI since 2016, so a huge surge in production this year seems unlikely.