MLB Player News

Ohtani (elbow) hit in the cage and threw out to 50 feet Monday, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Ohtani is slowly but surely working his way back from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last October. He should be cleared for on-field batting practice soon, barring setbacks. While he remains without a concrete return timeline, the hope is that Ohtani will be ready to serve as the team's designated hitter in May.

Choi went 3-for-3 with a double, a solo home run and two RBI overall in an 8-7 Grapefruit League loss to the Tigers on Saturday.

Choi vaulted his spring average to .378 with Saturday's perfect day at the plate. The 27-year-old is already slated to log plenty of time at designated hitter, but he's also set to fill in at first base early in the season as part of the domino effect of Matt Duffy's absence due to a hamstring injury. Starting first baseman Yandy Diaz is slated to occasionally fill in for Duffy at the hot corner, which will leave Choi poised for some starts in the field.

Miller signed a major-league contract with the Indians on Sunday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Miller opted out of his minor-league deal with the Dodgers on Thursday and was able to find a better opportunity with the Indians. Jason Kipnis (calf) and Francisco Lindor (calf) are ticketed to begin the season on the injured list, so Miller should have early opportunities for playing time. The 29-year-old had 254 major-league plate appearances between the Rays and Brewers in 2018 and slashed .248/.311/.413 with seven home runs and 82 strikeouts.

Jimenez went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and walked once in Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

As if on cue, the club's top prospect put up his best hitting effort of the spring hours after he signed a six-year contract, and general manager Rick Hahn suggested to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times that he'll break camp on the major-league roster. Jimenez returned from minor-league spring training for the game and looks like he might stay. Chicago cleared a spot on the Opening Day roster when it optioned Nicky Delmonico to Triple-A Charlotte.

Lewis, who finished Cactus League play with a .423 average (11-for-26), three home runs and five RBI over 12 games, benefited significantly from the first healthy offseason of his professional baseball career, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "Last year I didn't really have much of an offseason because I had a knee scope in February, missed Spring Training and was thrown right into the season," Lewis said, crediting training two months with the Mariners in Arizona and another two months in Florida for his big jump in production from last season to this spring. "I just focused on my overall strength, body control, balance."

Lewis' batting average was just shy of Jay Bruce's team-leading .433, a sign of just how successful his first exposure to big-league arms was. The 23-year-old has been besieged by injuries since Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto made him the initial first-round pick of his tenure, but the clean bill of health Lewis has enjoyed since the latter portion of last season clearly paid dividends this spring. Lewis will still open the season at Double-A Arkansas, but an ascension to Triple-A Tacoma is very likely at some point in the coming campaign if he's able to replicate a similar caliber of play.

Buxton (face) will start in center field and bat ninth in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Buxton was diagnosed with a facial contusion after exiting Friday's 10-6 loss to the Red Sox, but manager Rocco Baldelli suggested the outfielder's removal was merely precautionary, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The 25-year-old's ability to check back into the lineup a day later supports Baldelli's comments and suggests Buxton is in no danger of missing Opening Day.

General manager Rick Hahn suggested Saturday that Jimenez would be included on the White Sox's Opening Day roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "That decision as to final 25-man roster influences a lot of people, not just [Eloy]," Hahn said. "But I know both of us are certainly looking forward to Opening Day and Eloy getting started in his White Sox career."

After Jimenez signed a six-year, $43 million contract with the White Sox on Wednesday, it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that he would break camp with the big club. The team has since left the door open for Jimenez beginning the campaign at Triple-A Charlotte, but Hahn's comments fall just short of confirming that a minor-league assignment won't happen. Expect the White Sox to confirm Jimenez's spot on the Opening Day roster early during the upcoming week, with the 21-year-old slated to fill an everyday role in the outfield and occupy a prominent spot in the lineup right away.

Canha is expected to see time at first base with Matt Olson out 6-to-8 weeks with a broken hamate bone, Martin Gallegos of the Mercury News reports.

Canha replaced Olson at first after Olson suffered the injury in the fifth inning of Thursday's loss to the Mariners in Tokyo. The expectations is that Canha and Chad Pinder will split time at the position in Olson's absence. They both hit right-handed and thus do not form a natural platoon. Canha struggled against same-handed pitching last season, slashing .227/.323/.343 (88 wRC+), compared to .233/.302/.411 (97 wRC+) for Pinder. Both were well above average against lefties.

Reed was optioned to Triple-A on Friday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Reed was always a long shot to break camp with the Astros, and he didn't help his case by hitting .167/.250/.333 with 14 strikeouts in 30 at-bats this spring. The 25-year-old has no clear path to playing time in Houston, so he'll continue to toil away in the minors for the time being.

Buxton exited Friday's spring game with a facial contusion, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Buxton suffered the injury after colliding with Xander Bogaerts during a rundown. The Twins are listing the outfielder as day-to-day, so he appears to have avoided a potentially more serious injury. That said, his status will still be one to monitor over the coming days with Opening Day less than a week away.