MLB Player News

The Yankees reassigned Torrens to minor-league camp Monday.

Torrens had a solid spring, but he was always destined for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the season as long as the Yankees' catching corps was healthy. The 27-year-old has posted a .643 OPS over parts of six major-league seasons.

The Cubs optioned Canario to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Canario made a push for an Opening Day roster spot but ultimately came up short. The 23-year-old missed much of the 2023 season while recovering from multiple surgeries but did get a cup of coffee with the big club in September. He could be used at all three outfield spots at Iowa.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider announced Sunday that Vogelbach will be added to the major-league roster, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The 31-year-old joined Toronto as a non-roster invitee in February and earned a roster spot by posting an .895 OPS during spring training. The Blue Jays have Vladimir Guerrero and Justin Turner locked in at first base and designated hitter, respectively, so Vogelbach will mainly serve as a power source off the bench.

The Mets optioned Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Vientos looked as though he might begin the season as the Mets' top designated hitter in the short term while the newly signed J.D. Martinez completed his ramp-up program, but Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may prefer to take a committee approach to the DH spot until Martinez is ready to go. As a result, Vientos won't join the Mets for Opening Day, while the team instead reserves its final backup spot for infielder Zack Short, who offers more defensive versatility than Vientos. The 24-year-old Vientos should still be at the top of the list for a call-up if the Mets lose starting corner infielders Pete Alonso or Brett Baty or Martinez to an injury at any point in 2024.

The Nationals selected Winker to the major-league roster Sunday.

The 30-year-old joined the Nationals as a non-roster invitee in February and earned a place on the Opening Day roster with a .932 OPS in 15 Grapefruit League games. Winker posted a .567 OPS with Milwaukee last season but was limited to 61 games while returning from neck and knee surgeries, and he'll likely need to be more productive in 2024 in order to stick around in Washington.

Harper (back) is starting at first base in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Harper was able to take seven at-bats on a back field Friday, one of which resulted in him legging out an infield single. The 31-year-old slugger figures to be ready to go for Opening Day, but he has gone just 5-for-22 with three runs scored this spring.

Martinez will spend at least 10 days preparing to join the Mets after the season begins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear whether Martinez's preparation will occur in Triple-A games or at the Mets' spring training facility, but he won't be available to serve as New York's DH until after the second weekend of the season. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday that once Martinez is ready to make his Mets debut, he will bat fourth in the lineup behind Pete Alonso, per Tim Healey of Newsday.

The Cardinals optioned Baker to Triple-A Memphis on Saturday.

Baker was never able to get his bat going this spring, tallying nine hits in 44 at-bats while striking out 13 times. Baker slashed .334/.439/.720 with 33 homers and 98 RBI in Triple-A last season, and if he's able to find his swing again in the minors, he may return to the Cardinals' bench at some point this summer.

Ramirez is expected to see more playing time with Jonathan Aranda (finger) sidelined, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Aranda was in line for a large-side platoon role at DH with some possibility of getting additional at-bats at first base. However, he's now going to be sidelined for at least a month, leaving Ramirez to slide into the vacated playing time. Ramirez is a viable contributor when he gets regular opportunity, as he posted a .313/.353/.460 line across 434 plate appearances last season.

Major League Baseball issued a statement Friday announcing that its Department of Investigations has begun the formal process of investigating the matter involving Ohtani and his longtime interpreter. "Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhari from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter."

Ohtani's interpreter was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday and Ohtani's camp is accusing Mizuhara of using the player's money to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker. While it was reported Thursday that Ohtani was not under investigation by the league, the commissioner's office has since decided this matter warrants a closer look. There is a lot about the situation that is uncertain and that uncertainty will likely alter Ohtani's fantasy draft positioning over the rest of March.