MLB Player News

The Padres acquired Rooker and reliever Taylor Rogers from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for starting pitcher Chris Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagan, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Since they were planning to keep Kyle Garlick over Rooker on the Opening Day roster as a reserve outfielder/designated hitter, the Twins will cash out on the latter in an effort to bolster their pitching staff. With the move to San Diego, Rooker may face a similarly difficult path to earning a bench role on the Opening Day roster, and since he has two minor-league options remaining, the Padres are likely content to keep him around as organizational outfield depth at Triple-A El Paso. Rooker logged 213 plate appearances in the majors for Minnesota in 2021, slashing .201/.291/.397 with nine home runs and 16 RBI.

Collins is expected to break camp with the Blue Jays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Collins was acquired from the White Sox for Reese McGuire in a swap of backup catchers Sunday. The Blue Jays still have Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk on the team, but it looks like Collins will stick around as an additional bench bat. He doesn't appear to have a path to regular starts unless someone ahead of him gets injured, however.

Soler went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The slugger took Chris Bassitt deep in the first inning for his first homer this spring. Soler has been getting a look in the leadoff spot for manager Don Mattingly, an unorthodox choice given his power and .316 OBP last season, but the 30-year-old did post a .354 mark in that category in 2019 for the Royals. If he sticks atop the lineup, Soler would likely trade some RBI for runs over the course of the season, but the Marlins' batting order could be fluid all year.

Ford was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Ford was in camp on a minor-league deal but faced an uphill battle to win a roster spot. He'll serve as organizational depth at first base, but his .199/.301/.422 slash line in 101 career major-league games isn't good enough for a regular role at the position.

Belt (knee) will serve as the Giants' designated hitter and will bat second in Monday's Cactus League game against the Athletics.

Belt started at first base and went 0-for-2 in his spring debut Saturday against the Dodgers, but the Giants will have him fill a non-defensive role in the lineup for his second start of the Cactus League season. The Giants plan to keep Belt in the starting nine Tuesday before deciding whether he's fit to be part of the Opening Day roster, or if he'll require a brief IL stint to begin the season. Darin Ruf would likely absorb most of the at-bats at first base if Belt is sidelined for the start of the campaign.

Carpenter said Sunday that he plans to report to Triple-A Round Rock with the hope of earning a call-up to the Rangers down the road, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

After his production at the plate declined considerably over his final three seasons in St. Louis, Carpenter was forced to settle for a minor-league deal when he reached an agreement with the Rangers in March. The 36-year-old reworked his swing in the offseason with the hope of re-emerging as a big-league-caliber player, and though he wasn't rewarded with a spot on the Rangers' Opening Day roster, he's optimistic that he'll eventually force the organization's hand by performing well at Round Rock. The affiliate is only a few hours away from Carpenter's offseason home in Fort Worth, which likely explains why the three-time All-Star is willing to slum it in the minors at this point in his career.

The Rangers informed Carpenter on Sunday that he won't be included on their Opening Day roster, independent baseball journalist Jeff Wilson reports.

Texas will likely formally reassign Carpenter to minor-league camp in the coming days, but it's unclear if a player with his level of experience in the majors will be willing to report to Triple-A Round Rock to begin the season. Since he swatted a career-high 36 home runs in 2018, the longtime Cardinals infielder's production fell off swiftly during his final three seasons in St. Louis, with Carpenter submitting a .671 OPS and 87 wRC+ over that stretch. Now 36 years old and with little defensive utility to offer at this stage of his career, Carpenter may struggle to get another look in the majors.

Belt (knee) struck out swinging in his two plate appearances Saturday and said it may take a few weeks for him to find his rhythm at the plate, Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

He will have played at most three exhibitions games before Opening Day, and Belt hopes to play both Monday and Tuesday before determining his status for Opening Day. Belt only played in four spring training games last year and still set a career high with 29 home runs in 97 games, but he admitted that he's not where he'd like to be yet at the dish. The Giants are shorthanded, as LaMonte Wade and Evan Longoria are set to open the year on the injured list, so Darin Ruf, Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater could be set for more regular playing time early in the year.

Harper has crushed the ball this spring, hitting .346/.393/.846 with four homers in 10 games.

The only blemish on Harper's Grapefruit League line is a 42.9 percent strikeout rate, but he looks ready to go in every other way. Harper is coming off a season in which he won the NL MVP, hitting .309/.429/.615 with 35 homers and 13 steals. He should have even more chances for runs and RBI this season after the Phillies added Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber in free agency.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said earlier this spring that Stanton is expected to play a "decent amount" of outfield this season, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Stanton didn't play the outfield at all in 2020 but logged 26 games there last season, so he's fantasy-eligible as an outfielder in most leagues. The slugger is almost certain to spend most of his time at DH again this season, which is a decision largely centered on keeping him healthy. From a fantasy perspective, the optimal scenario includes Stanton playing just enough games to retain outfield eligibility for 2023 while maintaining his health by working mostly as the team's designated hitter.