MLB Player News

Belt (knee) is participating in full baseball workouts and will be re-evaluated for spring training action within a week, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury Newsreports.

Belt missed just over a month with a knee injury in the middle of the 2021 campaign, though it's unclear if this is a related issue. He has yet to appear in any spring training contests. The Giants have not made any determination about his availability for Opening Day.

Miller started at third base, batted leadoff and went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a second RBI in Friday's spring training game against the Royals.

Miller is in the mix at third base as well as left field for the Rangers. The utility player is 5-for-11 with a pair of home runs, five RBI and three runs scored over three games. If he doesn't settle in at left field -- both Nick Solak and Eli White have impressed this spring -- the lefty-hitting Miller could overtake the right-handed hitting Andy Ibanez as the starting third baseman or at the very least be the strong side of a platoon.

Beer went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run in Friday's spring training game against the Angels.

Beer finished up the game at first base and launched his first Cactus League home run. Arizona's leading candidate to serve as the designated hitter is 5-for-5 with two doubles and a homer over the last three spring games.

Blackmon went 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI in Friday's Cactus League win over the Cubs.

Blackmon appeared in his fourth Cactus League game of the year Friday, and he's served exclusively as the leadoff man this spring. Per Thomas Harding of MLB.com, manager Bud Black was noncommittal when asked whether Blackmon would hit at the top of the lineup to begin the regular season. However, the 35-year-old served as the leadoff man for several years earlier in his career, and the Rockies acquired more bats during the offseason that can hit in the heart of the order. Blackmon hasn't recorded any extra-base hits this spring but has gone 3-for-9 with three runs, an RBI, two walks and a strikeout across his four appearances.

Ramirez was traded from the Cubs to the Rays on Friday in exchange for Esteban Quiroz.

Ramirez arrived at spring training Friday after dealing with visa issues, but he'll now join Tampa Bay's camp. With just under two weeks remaining until Opening Day, it appears unlikely that the 27-year-old will begin the regular season in the majors.

Mercedes has a hamate fracture in his left hand and will undergo surgery Monday.

Mercedes is expected to require 6-8 weeks to recover following his procedure, so he'll be forced to begin the season on the injured list and is unlikely to return to game action until at least mid-May. The 29-year-old split time between Triple-A Charlotte and the major-league club last year and will likely spend time in the minors once he's healthy. Andrew Vaughn is in line to serve as Chicago's primary designated hitter to begin the year, but Mercedes should be in the mix to return to the majors at some point in 2022.

Ramirez arrived at camp Friday after a fairly long visa delay, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Ramirez made it to camp nearly two weeks later than most of his teammates. He was already looking at a tough battle for a bench spot, so his odds of breaking camp in the majors following the delay may be low.

Ohtani was officially named the Angels' Opening Day starter Friday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

In past years, the honor could potentially have gone to offseason addition Noah Syndergaard, but Ohtani is the clear choice following a season in which he struck out 29.3 percent of opposing batters en route to a 3.18 ERA. He'll face the Astros at home to open the season April 7 and then likely the Rangers in Texas a week later, with the Angels again expected to use a six-man rotation.

Canha went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.

The first-inning blast off Will Stewart was Canha's first of the spring. The 33-year-old cashed in on a big 2021 season that included career highs in runs (93), walks (77) and steals (12) by getting a two-year contract from the Mets this offseason, and he hit second in Thursday's lineup behind Brandon Nimmo -- a lineup that would give New York's sluggers like Pete Alonso plenty of ducks on the pond this year given Nimmo's career .393 OBP and Canha's career .344 mark.

The Red Sox plan to use a platoon in right field with Martinez starting against left-handers and Jackie Bradley against righties, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Now that the Red Sox have added an elite bat in Trevor Story, they have offensively capable options in case Bradley doesn't recover from his .163/.236/.261 slash line from 2021. In addition to using Martinez in right on days he's not the designated hitter, the Red Sox plan to give Christian Arroyo (hand) outfield reps. Both Martinez and Arroyo, a utility player who can line up anywhere on the infield, will be in the lineup against lefties.