MLB Player News

Winker is leading off and playing left field for the Reds' opener against the Nationals on Friday.

Winker led off eight times for the Reds last season. He doesn't possess much speed, but his .375 on-base percentage in 47 games for the Reds last season is ideal for a table-setter. It's a far better number than the .299 figure that the Reds' primary leadoff man, Billy Hamilton, posted last year. The Reds may rotate four outfielders (Winker, Hamilton, Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler) through three spots all season, so Winker may not play every day, but if he gets on base expect him to stick in the leadoff role when he does get a start.

Turner (wrist) was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

Turner is expected to miss the first 5-to-8 weeks of the season after suffering a broken wrist in a Cactus League contest earlier in March. A more concrete timetable should emerge once he resumes baseball activities. Meanwhile, Logan Forsythe is expected to hold down the hot corner until Turner is healthy, leaving Chase Utley, Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes to cover second base.

Choi has made the Brewers' Opening Day roster.

In a surprising move, the Brewers elected to keep four first basemen on their Opening Day roster, with Choi joining Jesus Aguilar, Eric Thames and Ryan Braun. The 26-year-old non-roster invitee impressed the Brewers' brass during spring training thanks to a .409/.518/.727 slash line across 56 plate appearances. That said, Choi has options remaining, so he likely won't stick with the big club for long, especially considering the team opted to carry just six relievers to start the season.

Dickerson (elbow) was placed on the 60-day disabled list Wednesday.

This is simply procedural, as Dickerson is expected to miss the entire 2018 season after it was announced that he'll undergo Tommy John surgery at the end of March. Shifting him to the 60-day disabled list opens up a spot on the Padres' 40-man roster.

Pederson will open the season on the major-league roster after Andrew Toles was sent to the minors Wednesday, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pederson appears to have lost out to Matt Kemp for the Dodgers' starting left field job but has at least won a bench role. The 25-year-old hit 11 homers in 323 plate appearances last season and could be in line for similar production in a similar amount of playing time again this season. If a starting role becomes available, he could contribute with a fair number of home runs, but his .222 career batting average drags down his fantasy value.

Carpenter, who laced a two-run single, walked and scored in two plate appearances during Thursday's 8-2 Grapefruit League win over the Braves, adjusted his swing this offseason in an attempt to revert back to his prior level of efficiency, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports. "I'm not going to let myself hit .240 again," Carpenter said. "I look at my season as a huge disappointment. I wasn't happy about the kind of year I had at all."

A commitment to putting the ball in the air more often beginning in 2015 led to a progressive increase in Carpenter's launch angle, which was up to an average of 21 degrees during a 2017 campaign in which his average dipped to its lowest figure (.241) since his initial seven-game cup of coffee with the Cards in 2011. That number put him in the same class as sluggers like Mike Napoli and Joey Gallo, hitters whose style in the batter's box is the antithesis of what Carpenter's has been for the majority of his career. In all, Carpenter sacrificed a total of 77 points in his batting average from the career-high .318 he hit in 2013 with his revamped approach, and his offseason tweaks were done with the intention of returning to the potent all-fields hitter he used to be. The usual caveat about spring numbers aside, Carpenter's .500 average over 19 plate appearances serves as a cautiously optimistic endorsement of his old-is-new-again swing as the regular season approaches.

Ozuna, who went 1-for-2 with four RBI from a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly in Thursday's 8-2 Grapefruit League win over the Braves, is now 11-for-22 after notching only four hits and 13 strikeouts in his first 28 spring at-bats, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Manager Mike Matheny attributed the ragged start to his offseason acquisition trying too hard to make a solid first impression. He noted that Ozuna "wanted to come in here with a bang and bounce a ball over that roof", in reference to the administration building of his old Miami Marlins squad that sits behind the left-field wall of Roger Dean Stadium. Ozuna has subsequently relaxed at the plate and thrived as a result, acknowledging that he was trying hard to prove himself early on. Given his breakout 2017 in Miami last season and body of work in the latter half of spring, the 27-year-old could be primed for another 30-homer, 100-RBI campaign.

Pederson's increased recent usage suggests that the Dodgers plan to carry him on the 25-man roster over Andrew Toles to begin the season, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old went 0-for-2 with a walk while serving as the club's designated hitter against the Angels on Thursday. With center and right field settled and Matt Kemp leading the race for the Dodgers' left field job, manager Dave Roberts would likely use Pederson as a fourth outfielder and bench power bat if the current configuration holds true. A backup role hurts his fantasy value, but the slugger would likely be the first man up should an injury (or a slow start from Kemp) open up a starting spot.

Cespedes went 3-for-3 with a double, two home runs and four RBI in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

Despite wrist, shoulder and hamstring issues that have restricted Cespedes to only 11 games this spring, the 32-year-old has still pounded out five homers and a .323 (10-for-31) batting average. That offers a solid glimpse at the risk/reward scenario he presents in fantasy drafts -- Cespedes will give you excellent numbers when he's healthy, but his next DL stint could be just around the corner.

Vargas was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Thursday.

Vargas' power potential is undeniable, but his struggles in the majors ultimately forced the Twins to cast him off the 40-man roster earlier in the month. He'll now head to Cincinnati, where he'll likely be relegated to being a bench bat given the presence of star first baseman Joey Votto.