MLB Player News

Choi (knee) fielded groundballs and took batting practice before Sunday's Grapefruit League opener, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Choi sat out Saturday's workout with right knee soreness, so Sunday's activity level was a welcome sight. The first baseman will have a chance to make his Grapefruit League debut Monday against the Twins, and how his knee responds to Sunday's activity level will play a pivotal role in the decision on whether Choi at least fills a designated hitter role or suits up at all.

Stanton won't play in his first spring training game until at least Wednesday against Toronto, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Stanton is healthy entering the start of exhibition play, but the team is opting to hold him out for the time being. He could debut Wednesday night against the Blue Jays, though he'll likely continue to be eased into action over the course of the spring. Stanton is projected to primarily function as the team's DH this season due largely to an injury history that has limited him to only 41 games over the past two seasons.

Brantley will be forced to play more in the outfield this season with Yordan Alvarez back in action, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brantley spent 26 games in the DH slot last season, as opposed to only 19 games in the field. With Alvarez very unlikely to play in the outfield, the DH slot will be less available to Brantley. The one possible route to DH starts for Brantley would be if Alvarez plays first base, but that would require moving Yuli Gurriel around.

Pederson said he is eager to take on an everyday role with the Cubs and face more left-handed pitching, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

While in Los Angeles, Pederson rarely faced lefties, registering an average of 54 plate appearances per season against southpaws between 2017 and 2019, and only 10 in the abbreviated 2020 campaign. However, Chicago manager David Ross has indicated that Pederson could play more frequently against lefties. This could help the 28-year-old approach the 151 games he played back in 2015, his second season in the majors.

Ohtani's fastball reached 100 mph in his bullpen session Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani topped out at 90 mph during his first bullpen session, which was either the sign of yet more arm troubles for the two-way sensation or simply the sign of a pitcher gradually getting up to speed to start camp. Thankfully, recent bullpen sessions have shown that it was clearly the latter, as he's now throwing significantly harder. Ohtani's fastball averaged 96.7 mph during his rookie season back in 2018 before he was shut down from pitching due to elbow troubles, and it looks as though he could sit in that range again this year.

Choi didn't work out with the Rays on Saturday due to a sore right knee, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Manager Kevin Cash said that Choi's knee issue likely stemmed from "over work" during the first few days of camp, and he'll be limited in the near future. He won't be able to play in Sunday's Grapefruit League opener, but Cash said that he should be fine in the coming days.

Alvarez (knee) will spend some time at first base during spring training if he's healthy, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

The Astros tried playing Alvarez at first base when he was in the minors, but the experiment never translated to major-league time at the position. While the team will test him out at first base once again this spring, it's not yet clear whether he'll be considered to play the position at any point during the regular season in 2021. The 23-year-old enters the season as a DH-only player and is "very unlikely" to play in the outfield this year, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Astros manager Dusty Baker suggested that it's "very unlikely" that Alvarez (knees) will play in the outfield this season, even if it's just for a game or two per week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. "It's shown in the past that whenever [Alvarez] plays in the outfield, he's hurting for two or three days, you know what I mean?" Baker said. "Who knows? That's very speculative as to how much he's going to play or how he's going to feel. We're a long way from making that determination, I think. We're just trying to get him on the field as the DH first."

Alvarez already enters this season as a DH-only player, and while this news isn't really a surprise, it reinforces that he won't likely gain eligibility at another position this season. So long as his bat rebounds however, the 23-year-old will have more than enough fantasy value to compensate for any loss of roster flexibility.

Choi plans to focus exclusively on hitting from the left side this season after experimenting with switch-hitting during the 2020 campaign, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The South Korean veteran saw all three components of his slash line decline in 2020, so he'll look to return to the form that helped him to a career-high 19 home runs and 63 RBI in 2019, a season during which he solely hit left-handed. Choi reports that he engaged in more heavy lifting than usual this winter since COVID-19 protocols in his native South Korea prevented him from taking any indoor fitness classes during the early part of the offseason.

Alvarez (knee) stretched and ran with his teammates Thursday but did not take batting practice, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Alvarez's knee issues limited him to just two games last season, and the fact that they're still limiting him to start camp this year doesn't seem like a good sign. It's possible the Astros are simply treating him with extreme caution with Opening Day still over a month away, and it's a positive that he's at least able to participate in some activities, but it's hard to be too confident in his health until he gets into game action.