MLB Player News

Bichette went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

Getting a look in the leadoff spot, Bichette stole his first bag of the spring. The 27-year-old shortstop could see significant time at the top of the order in 2025, especially if he quickly erases memories of his rough 2024, and he did steal 38 bases combined in 2021-22 before running mostly disappeared from his skill set over the last two seasons. Bichette is having a big spring as he looks for a clean slate at the plate, batting .351 (13-for-37) with three doubles, two homers and a 2:6 BB:K.

The Athletics optioned Hernaiz to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday.

Hernaiz turned in a lowly .503 OPS over 48 games in the majors with the Athletics last season and hit just .194 in Cactus League play, so he never seemed to built much of a case for a spot on the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old infielder should get the chance to play on an everyday basis at Triple-A.

Lee is starting at third base and batting seventh in Monday's Grapefruit League game versus the Pirates.

Royce Lewis strained his left hamstring strain during Grapefruit League action Sunday and is slated to open the season on the injured list. Lee could be the first choice to occupy the hot corner while Lewis is shelved, which would lead to more reps at second base for Willi Castro and Edouard Julien, who is starting at the keystone Monday.

Hamilton has made the strongest case this spring to earn the starting job at second base, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora is expected to make a decision on a primary starter at second base in a few days, but all signs point to Hamilton. Not only his spring numbers, which dwarf his competitors, Kristian Campbell and Vaughn Grissom, but also in how the manager speaks about Hamilton. "The experience matters, but at the same time we know the athlete," Cora said of Hamilton. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, all of them, they can play the position. It's just a matter of, how are we going to do it, what we're looking for." If Hamilton becomes the primary second baseman, he will be a hot fantasy draft commodity for those looking for steals. He stole 33 bags in 2024 for Boston and 50 or greater in three minor league seasons from 2021 to 2023. This supposes that Alex Bregman will play third base with Rafael Devers moving to DH.

Sweeney "appears poised to open the season as the primary shortstop" for the Tigers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Sweeney had just a .642 OPS for the Tigers down the stretch of last regular season and has only a .611 OPS so far this spring. However, Detroit likes his glove at shortstop and the club is also lacking alternatives, so Sweeney is slated to see most of the reps at shortstop to open the season, at least against right-handed pitching.

Anderson might be the Angels' Opening Day starter at second base due to Yoan Moncada (thumb) being a question mark for the beginning of the season, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Moncada may be destined for the IL due to a thumb injury, which would likely mean that Luis Rengifo will become the starter at the hot corner at the beginning of the campaign. That could open up the second-base job for Anderson, who has been getting some reps at the keystone this spring despite playing only two regular-season games there to this point in his nine years in the big leagues. If the second-base role does become available, Christian Moore and Scott Kingery, among others, could also be candidates for the position, but Anderson has done enough this spring to have his name called, as he's slashing .243/.300/.351 with a home run and two stolen bases over 40 plate appearances.

Crawford is batting just .214 with one home run and two RBI over 28 at-bats in the Cactus League, but he enters the 2025 season with a clean bill of health, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Following an injury-plagued season that saw him deal with an oblique strain and a fractured hand, Crawford is looking to put his tough 2024 campaign behind him. "I couldn't get in a rhythm and every time I started to hit good, those injuries popped up," Crawford said this past Monday. "It pretty much hurt every time I swung the bat." However, the 30-year-old infielder believes he's "in a great spot" health-wise this spring, and he's set to reprise his role as Seattle's everyday shortstop after hitting a career-low .202 across just 105 games last season.

Arias went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's spring game against Kansas City.

Arias launched his second Cactus League home run and has hits in five of his last six outings. Part of the competition for the starting job at second base, Arias may be leading the race, although Tyler Freeman has hit the best of the quartet with a .333/.419/.630 slash line in 31 plate appearances. Juan Brito and Angel Martinez are also in the mix.

Mateo (elbow) is starting at shortstop and batting seventh in Sunday's split-squad game against the Phillies, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mateo underwent UCL reconstruction surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow in late August and will be making his first start of spring training. The 29-year-old hasn't officially been ruled out for Opening Day, but manager Brandon Hyde recently said Mateo is unlikely to be available.

Dezenzo could make the Astros' Opening Day roster, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Dezenzo has racked up 33 at-bats and 34 plate appearances this spring while playing a combination of first base and both corner outfield spots. He's struck out at a 26.5 percent clip but also has four extra-base hits, and manager Joe Espada has noted the positive overall impression Dezenzo has made on the club. Even so, the status of Christian Walker (oblique) could ultimately dictate Dezenzo's fate to begin the campaign.