MLB Player News

Cabrera (back) is expected to miss the rest of the World Baseball Classic, Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY reports.

With Venezuela sitting at 0-2 in Pool F, the team is already all but eliminated from the tournament, as it would need an almost impossible combination of results and run scoring in order to win a tiebreaker and advance to the semifinals. As such, Cabrera will take it easy with the back injury, which is still expected to be minor, just to ensure that he will be ready for Opening Day with the Tigers.

Ramirez was optioned to minor league camp Friday, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet.ca reports.

A knee injury put Ramirez on the shelf last year just one game into his tenure in the Blue Jays' organization -- he came over from Pittsburgh in the Francisco Liriano deal. Ramirez hit .306/.354/.401 with two homers and seven steals (17 attempts) in 98 games with Double-A Altoona before the trade. The 22-year-old figures to return to Double-A to begin the 2017 season.

Jimenez was reassigned to minor league camp Friday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The Cubs' top prospect impressed this spring, slashing .321/.355/.607 in 16 games at just 20 years old. Jimenez is still likely a few years away from the majors, but the organization believes he is advanced for his age.

Harper went 1-for-3 with his sixth home run of the spring, a solo shot, in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

Zack Wheeler was the victim this time out, as Harper re-established his lead in the spring home run race. He now has an absurd .966 SLG through 29 at-bats, and Harper would seem to be more than ready for Opening Day to arrive.

Cabrera's back discomfort, that prompted him to be removed from Thursday's World Baseball Classic contest, isn't a cause for concern for the Tigers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. "I just got a text from Omar (Vizquel, Venezuela's manager) this morning saying his back tightened up and he's fine. Don't think it's anything more than that," said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said, who was uncertain whether Cabrera would play in Team Venezuela's Saturday contest.

Though it's worth noting, this story at first glance doesn't appear to jeopardize Cabrera's fantasy value. Of course, diligent drafters should watch closely as their big day approaches.

Cabrera (back) was pulled from Thursday's game against the Dominican Republic for precautionary reasons, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reports.

Hernan Perez came on to take over for Cabrera at first base in the sixth inning after the veteran slugger experienced some back tightness. Fortunately, manager Omar Vizquel told Morosi that the move was precautionary, so there's hope that Cabrera's back issue won't put him on the shelf for long. More information on Cabrera's status figures to be released Friday.

Carpenter (back) isn't in the Cardinals' lineup Thursday but is expected to return Friday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

We'll confirm whether he's on Friday's card, but it's a positive sign that St. Louis plans on putting him in, considering Carpenter has maintained his readiness for at least a week. As long as Carpenter shows somewhat normal abilities at the dish, fantasy players should feel comfortable drafting the multi-positional gem at his market price, which comes in at an Average Draft Position of 71.70 in NFBC leagues (15-team mixed).

Dickerson was diagnosed with a disc protrusion in his back, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The outfielder won't require surgery, but he will miss 3-4 weeks.

Dickerson therefore loses a chance to break camp as at least a partial starting outfielder. His promising power makes him a stash candidate in NL-only fantasy leagues, though with an injury like this, the 26-year-old could need more rest than this initial prognosis. This also gives Travis Jankowski and Jabari Blash an opportunity to swipe at least semi-regular left field roles out of the gate, perhaps in a platoon with the former occupying the top side. They have potential for even more should Manuel Margot's knee problem linger. Jankowski has potential for 30-plus stolen bases in a near full season, and though he's raw, Blash already has clubbed five home runs and driven in 13 runs with a .308/.441/.885 spring training line through 13 games. Both fly-catchers could be intriguing early-season gambles in deep mixed fantasy leagues, depending on what their speculators need.

Brantley (shoulder) went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBI in his minor league spring debut Wednesday, Paul Hoynes of of Cleveland.com reports.

Brantley is slowly progressing through his rehab, testing the health of his surgically repaired right shoulder in minor league games before moving on. He said he felt good afterwards, which is good news, but his status for Opening Day remains a question mark. The 29-year-old will appear in another minor league game Friday, and if all goes well, he could see himself in Cactus League games fairly soon.

Colon left Wednesday's game after spraining his right middle finger, Jeffery Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Colon was 1-for-2 with a stolen base before he jammed his finger sliding back to second base. It's a tough blow for the 27-year-old, who is in a four-way competition for the starting second base job in Kansas City. Before the injury, he was 7-for-28 (.250) with one RBI in 13 games this spring. He should be considered day-to-day until further notice is provided by the team.