MLB Player News

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has improved his first-step quickness as a result of his offseason training program and feels like he "can reach anything," ESPN.com reports.

"Just in general I feel quicker, stronger," Bogaerts said. "Regardless of whether you see it or not, I know what I feel, and I feel like I can reach anything."

Bogaerts had an uneven first full season at the plate, hitting .240/.297/.362 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 538 at-bats.

"I’m just one year older, but I just feel more comfortable," he said. "I struggled really badly last year. I don’t think it’ll get any worse than that. I’ve been through a lot, from the World Series through struggling that much, so what else can I do?"

After shifting between shortstop and third base in 2014, Bogaerts is in line to serve as the team's full-time shortstop in 2015.

Angels infielder Taylor Featherston has impressed the team with his defensive versatility, but his ability to stick in the organization will be determined by his offense, MLB.com reports.

"Taylor is a kid that feels very comfortable on second, third or short. He's very athletic. He has a good arm," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "On the defensive side, he's shown that he is ready for the challenge of the Major Leagues. On the offensive side, it's going to take a little bit of comfort level in the batter's box. He's getting better."

Featherston is preparing for an eventual utility role.

"I've talked to some guys in the past that have done that, and they always say every few innings or so they have their things that can keep them going," he said. "They're stretching, they're in the cage getting flips, they're always prepared. You never know when it's going to be your turn. I don't know how [Scioscia] likes to run it, and I better learn quick. It's my job to be prepared and be comfortable so that every time I come in it's just a smooth transition."

Featherston is 7 for 19 with two doubles and six RBI in 12 appearances this spring.

Indians utility player Zach Walters will miss the rest of spring training, and possibly the start of the season, with an oblique injury.

MRI results on Saturday showed a high-grade strain of his right oblique.

"It's safe to say he's going to miss some time," Indians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "Regardless of what the MRI says, you have to treat the symptoms. Guys can't start doing baseball activities until they're pain-free, and that varies with every one of them, regardless of what the diagnosis is." 

Indians utility player Zach Walters will undergo more follow-up tests on his injured right oblique to gather more information, according to MLB.com. Walters injured his oblique while swinging at a pitch during Wednesday's 10-5 Cactus League loss to the Royals.

"He's pretty sore," Indians manager Terry Francona said of Walters. "We're going to have to get him checked and see where that goes."

Indians manager Terry Francona said that the abdominal injury Zach Walters sustained on Thursday is more of an oblique injury, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 

Walters injured his oblique while swinging at a pitch during Wednesday's 10-5 Cactus League loss to the Royals. Walters is experiencing soreness and will have the injury evaluated again. 

The Indians acquired Walters last year in a deal that sent infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals. 

Indians utility player Zach Walters injured an abdominal muscle in the fifth inning during Thursday's 10-5 Cactus League loss to the Royals, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 

Walters was injured while swinging and was forced to leave the game early. 

The Indians acquired Walters last year in a deal that sent infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals. 

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has struggled to release the ball with the velocity to get much-needed outs.  The 22-year-old is working to overcome nerves and make the necessary throws.

“Sometimes I catch the ball, see if it’s an easy out, and that’s when I get in trouble,” he said yesterday. “Pass it through (first baseman Mike) Napoli’s chest — that’s what I need to do. But don’t go light just because it looks easy.”

After spending the winter working out with Dustin Pedroia, he's ready to unveil his new arm. The Red Sox are noticing the time he has put in to improve.  

“If you look at his arm stroke now compared to this time a year ago, it was longer last year,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “So he would cut the ball, it would sail, it would sink, it wouldn’t have the true backspin he’s generating now, which adds to the carry of throws. He’s done quite a bit of work on just maintaining a strong front side with his direction and a shorter arm stroke to give that true rotation to the throws.”

Now that Bogaerts is showing a much more powerful arm, Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield is optimistic that his hard work will pay off.

“Bogey is in great shape, has worked hard in the offseason to get better, and that’s one of the things that sticks out to us,” Butterfield said. “We know we have a guy playing in the middle of our infield that cares about getting better and he’ll do anything he can to move up in that regard.”

Angels manager Mike Scioscia is weighing how much emphasis to put on spring-training performance as he decides how to approach the second-base position this season, MLB.com reports.

"A lot of it is to see what the best fit is for your group of guys, what your lineup needs are," Scioscia said. "There's an absolute to people winning jobs at spring training. Probably not at the analysis you're looking at -- 'Oh, he hit .340 in spring training' -- but there are a lot of things we're looking at as to how a guy fits in our lineup. You can make the team in spring, for sure, with the things that you show."

Scioscia hasn't ruled out the option of using multiple players at the position as the situation dictates.

"That's one of the options," he said. "There are guys that have the ability to go out there and do what we need to do on the defensive end and the offensive end, and we'll see who emerges and who gives us the best look."

Josh Rutledge highlights a second-base competition that also includes Grant Green, Johnny Giavotella and Taylor Featherston.

Indians manager Terry Francona said Zach Walters will work at first base and shortstop early in spring training before eventually playing in the outfield, per Cleveland.com.

"I don't think that's really fair to have a guy play seven positions the first week," Francona said.

When asked about former Mets teammate Ruben Tejada, Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes shook his head and said "something is wrong," per Newsday.

Reyes revealed that during his final season with the Mets he tried to pass the torch to Tejada to become his replacement. Reyes landed in Miami in the offseason, and Tejada was destined to be his permanent replacement. Now entering spring training, Wilmer Flores is viewed as the favorite to win the starting job at shortstop for the Mets.

"Every time I talk to him I try to give him some advice," Reyes said. "What can I do? I try to push him to do stuff. I don't know if he gets it or not...He had the opportunity to be the everyday shortstop for a long time there in New York. You have to work, man. When you're younger, you think you have everything there for you. But if you do something wrong, it's going to go away. Quick.

"When I was there, I always give a lot of advice to him. We were always together. My last year there, every time I talk to him: 'This is going to be your position for a long time. Don't let it go away.' See what happened now? It's 2015 and he doesn't have a position to play. When they talk about who is going to play every day, they don't talk about Tejada. They talk about Flores."