MLB Player News

Turner (knee) will be held out of the first week of spring training action, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

Manager Dave Roberts will take it easy with Turner early this spring, but Turner remains on track to be ready to go by Opening Day. As long as he is healthy he is slated to open the season as the Dodgers' primary third baseman.

Soler was in left field during Friday's outfield drills, the team's official site reports.

Soler played mostly right field in 2015, but with Dexter Fowler now on board to play center, Jason Heyward will shift to right, forcing Soler, Kyle Schwarber, and Shane Victorino to battle it out in left. While it's looking like Schwarber and Soler will platoon in left, expect there to be more movement in Cubs camp before the team heads north.

Soler's playing time in 2016 will likely take a hit with the Cubs' decision to re-sign Dexter Fowler on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

With Fowler in center and Jason Heyward in right, Soler may platoon with Kyle Schwarber in left, seeing his start there against left-handed pitching, or against righties when manager Joe Maddon deploys Schwarber behind the plate in place of Miguel Montero. A trade out of Chicago or an injury to one of the regulars in front of him appear to be Soler's only paths to everyday playing time this season.

Brantley (shoulder) continues to progress but remains limited to hitting from a tee, MLB.com reports.

It's certainly good news that Brantley hasn't suffered any setbacks thus far as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery. He's still unlikely to be ready for Opening Day but we'll have a better idea once he's able to take the next step forward in his rehab.

Cabrera may play third base during the Tigers' interleague games at the start of the season if Victor Martinez can play first base, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com.

It's an interesting option for manager Brad Ausmus, but we need to see how VMart's knee holds up during spring training. Cabrera may quickly get one- and five-game eligibility -- the Tigers have six games against National League foes in the first 10 days of the season.

Belt will not play much - if any - left field during spring training, CSN Bay Area reports.

The fact that the Giants aren't having Belt work on his outfield defense during spring training indicates they no longer view him as a viable backup option. While he is the club's starting first baseman, he logged 13 starts in left field last season with Buster Posey sliding over to first, usually against lefties. The signing of veteran outfielder Denard Span and the emergence of Jarrett Parker are presumably the reasons the club feels comfortable keeping Belt at his natural position. This news - if it sticks for the regular season - is a positive for San Francisco's defense, but a negative for any Belt owners in fantasy, as he will likely see 10-15 less games started this year.

Turner (knee) will be a full participant in the team's workouts, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday, SB Nation's Eric Stephen reports.

While Roberts said Turner would be a full participant, he noted that the intensity might be tempered a bit as the Dodgers' third baseman works his way back from a offseason microfracture procedure. As spring training gets underway it should become clearer what limitations Turner faces initially, if any, but so far all of the news out of camp has been positive and he remains on track to be ready for Opening Day.

Reed, who was overweight when he arrived to spring training in 2015, looked noticeably slimmer when he arrived to Astros camp Monday, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports.

"I'm in a lot better shape this year than I was last year," Reed said. "I just don't think I really understood what I needed to do. It was my first offseason alone. You know, I wasn't at school (at the University of Kentucky) where they're kind of walking you through everything. I don't think I was really ready for that. It was something I had to learn from. This year, I had a really good idea of where I needed to be to be successful for the year." The 22-year-old will try to beat out Jonathan Singleton, Tyler White, Preston Tucker, Marwin Gonzalez and Luis Valbuena for the Astros' first base job during camp.

Brantley (shoulder) hopes to take some swings against live pitching soon, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. "There's a whole schedule laid out and I know we've got to go over it and kind of see how each day lines up. I'm not sure where we're going from here right now, but we should be starting to hit some baseballs here soon," Brantley said Monday.

Brantley remains optimistic about his chances of getting ready for Opening Day but the Indians are still preparing to open the season with him on the DL following November shoulder surgery. Taking some swings against live pitching is the next hurdle to clear as he works his way back.

Brantley (shoulder) has graduated to hitting off of a tee, and is still targeting Opening Day for his return, Jordan Bastain of MLB.com

While Brantley may still insist Opening Day is a possibility, WTAM 1100's Nick Camino notes that it's probably not a realistic goal. A breakout star in 2014, Brantley backed that up with another well-rounded 2015 campaign, derailed only by an injuries that limited him to just 137 games. Timetables for Brantley have generally ranged from mid-April to early May, but more clarity on the situation should come as the regular season approaches.