MLB Player News

Turner (face) will take batting practice on the field Friday and could return to Grapefruit League action Monday if all goes well, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

It had been suggested Turner could return to games over the weekend, but it appears that timeline has been pushed back a tad. He'll have missed two weeks of action if he returns Monday following a hit-by-pitch to the face that required 16 stitches. Turner should be fine for Opening Day.

Harper (elbow) hit soft toss Thursday in Phillies camp, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

It's another step forward for Harper, who had been limited to tee work since he arrived at the Phillies' spring training complex earlier this month. On the mend from Tommy John and ulnar nerve transposition surgery, the 30-year-old slugger is expected to be ready to return at DH for the reigning NL champs just prior to the All-Star break, so he still has plenty of rehab work ahead of him.

Buxton played in a minor-league game Thursday in Twins camp, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

It was the first live action of the spring for Buxton, who has been brought along slowly by design after yet another injury-plagued campaign in 2022. The dynamic 29-year-old outfielder currently carries a clean bill of health and is hoping to show improved durability in 2023. When healthy last year, he delivered a strong .833 OPS with 28 home runs and six stolen bases in 92 games.

McCutchen was sidelined Thursday in Pirates camp due to minor right elbow soreness, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

It's not believed to be anything serious, but Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the team will "take it very slow with Andrew." He'll probably spend the weekend getting rest and treatment before a reevaluation of the situation early next week.

Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, two runs scored and four RBI in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

The veteran slugger banged out his fourth two-bagger of the spring against Cristopher Sanchez as part of a four-run first inning. Ozuna is now hitting .321 (9-for-28) in camp, and while he's still looking for his first homer, he at least appears ready for Opening Day. The 32-year-old is looking to rebound from a rough 2022 campaign that saw him slash just .226/.274/.413, and he could offer some late-round power production this season.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Turner (face) is scheduled to take batting practice Friday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Assuming Turner is able to track the ball well during his upcoming BP session, he could be cleared to rejoin the Red Sox's Grapefruit League lineup as soon as Saturday or Sunday for what would be his first game action since he exited a March 6 contest after being struck in the face by a pitch. Turner was fortunate to avoid a concussion or any facial fractures, but he required 16 stitches to seal a laceration on his face and also experienced significant swelling. The Red Sox will likely ease Turner back into the spring lineup at designated hitter before having him play third base.

Carpenter and Nelson Cruz will likely share DH duties this season, Jeff Snider of SI.com reports.

Carpenter and Cruz are both newcomers to the Padres this season, and they form a natural platoon pair with the former being a left-handed batter and the latter batting from the right side of the plate. Carpenter has also been playing first base this spring, per Jack Magruder of MLB.com, so he figures to get additional at-bats by occasionally starting at that position. San Diego will be hoping that the veteran can recapture some of the magic that led Carpenter to a huge bounce-back campaign with the Yankees last season, when he slashed .305/.412/.727 with 15 homers and 37 RBI over just 154 plate appearances.

Rooker is hitting .391 (9-for-23) with five doubles, two RBI, eight walks, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and six runs across 11 Cactus League games.

The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers in November after being designated for assignment by Kansas City, and he's now making a strong case for an Opening Day roster spot as a reserve outfielder. Rooker boasts a 1.172 OPS in Cactus League play and impressively laced a pair of two-baggers off the White Sox's Dylan Cease and reliever Joe Kelly on Tuesday, the latest installment in a spring that Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports has been an extension of a very strong minor-league body of work in both the Padres and Royals organizations in 2022. "Rook's having a good spring," manager Mark Kotsay said. "These at-bats today were great. He hits the ball hard. He's done a nice job of taking some great at-bats. He's taking advantage of this opportunity right now."

Cespedes has left Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic for personal reasons, the Associated Press reports.

The former MLB slugger did not play in the last two games of the first round of the tournament, and went hitless in the two games he did play in. The 37-year-old could rejoin the team for the quarterfinal in Miami, but few specifics have been released as to why he's left the club or when he'll rejoin.

Encarnacion-Strand was reassigned Tuesday to the minor-league side of Reds camp.

Encarnacion-Strand has flashed tremendous power this spring with four home runs and 13 RBI across 27 plate appearances in the Cactus League. And he put up 32 homers and 114 RBI in 122 minor-league games last summer. Acquired from the Twins in August 2022 as part of the Tyler Mahle trade, the 23-year-old corner infielder could eventually emerge as a thundering offensive threat at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.