MLB Player News

Carpenter (back) said Saturday he intends to make his spring debut for the Cardinals on Tuesday against the Marlins, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter has been dealing with back soreness since early February and indicated the plan is to serve as the team's designated hitter Tuesday. The 32-year-old remains optimistic he can be available for Opening Day, which is a realistic goal should he be able to avoid any setbacks.

Dickerson will proceed with the rehab route instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery on the UCL sprain in his left elbow, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

This remains a wait-and-see operation as Dickerson is still a few weeks away from participating in drills and will likely be sidelined from game action until the beginning of May while building the elbow back up to speed. In the event that the elbow fails to show any improvement, Dickerson will then undergo Tommy John surgery, which would end his 2018 season but give him enough time to get ready for next year. Either way, expect him to open the season on the disabled list.

McCutchen is 5-for-13 (.385) for the Giants this spring.

One of the Giants' prized offseason acquisitions has gotten off to solid start with his new club. McCutchen still hasn't delivered an extra-base hit, but the key for the veteran outfielder is that he is healthy and he has his timing down early in camp. The move to AT&T Park is never a positive for a hitter, but the 31-year-old managed to club 28 home runs while playing home games at PNC Park, which ranked in the bottom third in terms of park factors for long balls in 2017. The days of McCutchen being a 20/20 threat are in the rearview mirror, but the right fielder should be able to reach the 20-homer mark with a solid batting average and healthy counting stats while batting in the middle of San Francisco's revamped lineup.

Carpenter (back) is fielding grounders and throwing with increased intensity Friday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter has been battling back soreness all spring and has yet to appear in a game. He's been swinging for a few days and is now doing fielding work as well, so he's likely not too far from making his spring debut. His status for Opening Day remains up in the air, but if reports remain positive there's a good chance he'll be ready to go.

Carpenter (back), who continued his hitting program Thursday, is expected to only play first base upon his return, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter has yet to see his first Grapefruit League action while tending to his lower back problems, although he did continue his hitting program in the batting cages for the third straight day Thursday. The original projection for the veteran's return to action was mid-March, but Carpenter feels that timeline is overly cautious and that he'll be able to put in two full weeks of spring training games. Upon his return, he's highly likely to be limited to just playing first base as opposed to multiple positions, which had been discussed at one point this winter. The reason for the change in plan is physical in nature, but it concerns Carpenter's 2017 shoulder issues more than his current injury. "The shoulder is always something we're concerned about," manager Mike Matheny said. "We're trying to get his back right and he's also trying to get his shoulder into a really good place. But that (shoulder) might be something that would push it more toward first base than third."

Torrens has been sidelined with a minor oblique injury this spring, Bill Center of MLB.com reports.

Torrens has only made three plate appearances this spring, but manager Andy Green stated Thursday that the backstop is nearing a return to the field. With Austin Hedges and one of A.J. Ellis or Raffy Lopez set to man catching duties at the big-league level this upcoming season, it seems likely that Torrens will kick off the 2018 campaign in the minors.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Wednesday's spring training victory over the Angels.

The 2017 season was a lost one for the 25-year-old slugger after he was removed from the starting center field job due to a combination of poor performance (.212/.331/.407 in 323 plate appearances), a concussion and the emergence of Chris Taylor. Pederson enters the 2018 campaign with no guarantees of playing time, and a trio of viable candidates to compete with for the Dodgers' starting left field job. He has struggled through his first 26 spring at-bats (.160/.192/.240), but there is plenty of time for him to turn things around and get back in this race. If Pederson can't edge out any of Matt Kemp, Andrew Toles or Alex Verdugo, then he would find himself in a bench role or back in the minors, two scenarios that would wipe out almost all of his fantasy value.

Dickerson was diagnosed Wednesday with a UCL sprain in his left elbow and will consider his options before deciding upon a course of action, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The next step isn't clear at this point, but there's a chance that Dickerson will avoid having to undergo surgery. The outfielder will likely be sidelined for at least six weeks while recovering from the sprain, and would miss even more time if he happens to go the surgical route. Expect a decision within the next few days. Regardless of how Dickerson chooses to proceed with his rehab, he'll open the season on the disabled list, officially taking him out of consideration for the fourth-outfielder role. Dickerson's injury improves the odds of one of Franchy Cordero, Matt Szczur (oblique) and Travis Jankowski breaking camp with the big club.

Manager Andy Green indicated Tuesday that Reyes' wrist injury is still bothering him, Bill Center of MLB.com reports.

Reyes underwent wrist surgery during the offseason and appeared back to full strength after recently returning to spring action. There is no specific timetable for the 22-year-old's return. However, Green did say Reyes is "not going to be out there for a while."

Dickerson (elbow) is expected to be out through Opening Day, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Dickerson has been battling an elbow injury all spring and isn't making the expected progress. He continues to be monitored by team doctors and his return timetable is unclear. Dickerson's absence limits the Padres' bench outfielder competition to Franchy Cordero, Matt Szczur and Travis Jankowski, with Hunter Renfroe and Jose Pirela competing for primary duties in left field.