MLB Player News

Belt (heel) could be ready for Opening Day, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt is making his initial spring training appearance at first base Thursday after being slowed by offseason heel surgery. Based on his struggles to ramp up during camp it appeared that an injured list stint to begin the season was likely, though there is optimism surrounding the situation depending on how Belt responds to game action.

Belt (heel) is starting Thursday's spring game against the Brewers, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Belt has had a slow start to spring training after offseason heel surgery and various illnesses, but he'll make his first appearance at first base during Thursday's Cactus League game while batting second. The Giants haven't yet announced whether Belt will be ready for the start of the regular season in a week.

Turner is noticeably slimmer this spring, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Turner has typically clocked in over 200 pounds in recent seasons, but he reportedly got down to as low as 192 pounds as the result of a diet that the veteran hopes will help make him "lighter, more mobile and more durable." Manager Dave Roberts noted that Turner has improved his defensive range as a result of the weight loss, though it remains to be seen if it will have an effect on his offense. The third baseman is slugging .278/.395/.472 with one home run and six RBI in Cactus League play.

Belt (heel/illness) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Wednesday against the Padres as a pinch hitter, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The 32-year-old has been playing catch-up throughout camp after undergoing heel surgery in October and then coming down with COVID-19 in January and mononucleosis in February, but he's set to make his spring debut Wednesday. There's only eight days before Opening Day, so Belt is running out of time to play the field in a spring game before the start of the season. A short trip to the injured list to open the campaign wouldn't be surprising, though the Giants have yet to indicate whether he's expected to be ready for the season opener.

Carpenter is hitting .033 (1-for-30) with one RBI, seven walks, 13 strikeouts and a run over 14 Grapefruit League games.

Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Carpenter isn't in danger of missing out on the Opening Day roster despite his abysmal spring performance, especially considering he's due $18.5 million this coming season and the fact he isn't taking up a starting spot. Hummel also notes Carpenter's left-handed bat and defensive versatility are two other factors in his favor for the time being, but he adds it would naturally behoove the veteran to get off to a productive start after the type of spring he's had and in light of his pedestrian .216/.332/.372 line over the last two seasons.

Belt (heel) will run the bases Sunday and could get into game action by the end of next week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Belt underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right heel in October and then saw his recovery delayed first by COVID-19 in January and then by mononucleosis in February. He hasn't been officially ruled out for Opening Day, but the projected timeline would have him getting into game action with potentially less than a week until the regular season begins. A short stay on the injured list wouldn't be a surprise and could open up starts for Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf or Austin Slater.

Ozuna has gone 4-for-19 (.211) through 10 Grapefruit League games with a double, a home run and a 4:9 BB:K.

The strikeouts aren't ideal, but so far this spring Ozuna has been focused on getting in his reps and getting his timing down at the plate. The 30-year-old will hit in the heart of a potent Atlanta offense this season, and while he almost certainly won't match the 1.067 OPS he racked up in 2020, Ozuna could take a run at his second career 30-HR, 100-RBI campaign.

Blackmon went 0-for-1 with a run and one walk in Monday's spring loss to the Dodgers.

Blackmon led off the bottom of the second inning Monday with a walk before he was brought in by a Sam Hilliard double to score the first run of the game. The 34-year-old has gone just 2-for-18 with two runs, two walks and three strikeouts over eight spring games this year, but he'll serve as the Rockies' primary right fielder in 2021.

The Diamondbacks reassigned Beer to their minor-league camp Tuesday.

MLB's decision not to implement a universal designated hitter for the 2021 season likely ended any chance Beer had of cracking the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster, since the 24-year-old doesn't profile as an ideal bench option due to his lack of defensive versatility. Beer is still one of the top hitters in Arizona's farm system, though his initial results upon coming over from Houston in a July 2019 trade weren't all that encouraging. Over his 24 games with Double-A Jacksonville in 2019, Beer slashed .205/.297/.318 (83 wRC+) across 101 plate appearances.

Miller's oblique injury is a relatively mild strain which won't necessarily rule him out for Opening Day, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Miller suffered the injury Saturday. He'll be reevaluated later in the week, at which point his timeline should become more clear. He's expected to be one of the Phillies' top bench players this season. If he's forced to miss the start of the campaign, that could be good news for one of the team's lesser utility options such as C.J. Chatham, Ronald Torreyes or Nick Maton.