MLB Player News

Ohtani will start opposite Andrew Heaney in Tuesday's intrasquad game and is expected to throw 3-to-4 innings, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

This will be a controlled environment where manager Joe Maddon can end an inning early or change the batting order on the fly, but it is nonetheless encouraging that Ohtani is already capable of going four innings. He is set to be a true two-way player again in 2020, pitching once per week while starting at designated hitter roughly four days per week. This means there probably won't be any two-start weeks for Ohtani, which hurts his value in weekly leagues.

Cespedes (ankle) played one inning in left field during Sunday's simulated game, Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News reports.

He was also one of the few batters to make any kind of solid contact against Jacob deGrom, though Cespedes didn't appear to be moving around at full speed on the bases or in the field. Cespedes will probably see most of his playing time this season as the Mets' designated hitter, but if he proves capable of handling defensive duties as well it gives the team another route to getting his bat in the lineup.

Torrens would "almost certainly" benefit if the Padres choose to carry three catchers on the active roster to begin the season, but manager Jayce Tingler remains noncommittal about that possibility, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

There are multiple factors that will determine whether San Diego chooses to carry three catchers on its initial 30-man squad, not the least of which is the possibility of Francisco Mejia logging time as designated hitter. Should the Padres choose to use Mejia in that role, Torrens has a much more direct path to breaking camp with the big-league club. Should San Diego ultimately decide to carry only two backstops, Torrens will likely be part of the team's three-man taxi squad for road contests.

Choi has been wearing a mask and protective goggles during early summer camp workouts, a practice that could extend to the regular season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi could again see time at both first base and designated hitter in 2020 after posting career-best figures in multiple categories, including home runs (19) and RBI (63), a year ago. The 29-year-old has been one of the most consistent on-base presences for the Rays during his first two seasons in Tampa, and it remains to seen if added protective accessories would affect his typically sharp vision at the plate to any degree. Notably, Topkin separately reports Choi hit from the right side for part of Saturday's batting practice session and put solid wood on the ball, but manager Kevin Cash remarked that he plans to keep Choi hitting left-handed on a full-time basis once the season begins.

Vogelbach attended Saturday's summer camp session after not being present for Friday's opening day, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

The reason for Vogelbach's absence Friday wasn't officially disclosed, but there appears to be no health-related concerns considering he was present and accounted for a day later. The burly slugger will look to regain the momentum he'd built up during Cactus League play, when he hit .321 (9-for-28), during the current ramp-up to Opening Day.

Lewis particularly impressed manager Scott Servais during the Mariners' second day of summer camp workouts Saturday, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Servais singled out Lewis when speaking about how essentially everyone on the roster came into summer camp in good shape. The young outfielder, who's set to take on an everyday role this season, attributed his current level of fitness to the fact he was able to maintain a full routine during the shutdown while housed in Atlanta. "I was able to work with my speed coach and my weight coach in private sessions," Lewis said. "Then my hitting coach from my high school days, who has been my hitting coach throughout, I was able to go to the high school and do private sessions too and be able to keep good distance with all that and still get all my work in."

Solak has been working with coaches at first base, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Finding a defensive home for Solak has been a goal for the Rangers since the start of spring training in February. They looked at him in center field and third base, but he's blocked at those positions. His best position, second base, belongs to Rougned Odor at this time. The Rangers planned to have him work at first base during the second half of spring training, but the pandemic put a halt to that. If he can capably handle first base, that would be the solution. The Rangers were getting little from either Ronald Guzman or Greg Bird this spring, so it could be a home for Solak's bat. He led the Rangers with a .393 on-base percentage over a limited sample size of 135 plate appearances in 2019.

Ohtani indicated that he will probably not include a leg kick in his swing this year, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani had been experimenting with the leg kick prior to the suspension of spring training, and even in veering away from the adjustment, he acknowledged the quickness with which he's able to react once his front foot touches the ground. The slugger has done well enough without the leg kick through his first two big-league seasons, slashing .286/.351/.532 with 40 home runs in 792 plate appearances.

Buxton (personal) is expected to arrive in camp Sunday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Buxton was absent for the first several days of camp after the birth of his son, but he's expected to join the Twins on Sunday. Before he's allowed to join the team, he'll need to undergo a COVID-19 test. However, if he tests negative, he should be ready for the start of the regular season.

Ohtani completed a bullpen session at Angel Stadium on Friday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani returned to the mound in April and has been ramping up his pitching activity since. While the two-way star was originally expected to miss several weeks to begin the season as he finished recovering from Tommy John surgery, the delayed start to the campaign has given him ample time to build up his arm, and he is now likely to be part of the starting rotation when the season kicks off. Manager Joe Maddon all but confirmed this when he stated that Ohtani is "ready to rock and roll" in a comment to reporters Thursday, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.