MLB Player News

Jimenez was optioned to minor-league camp by the Blue Jays on Monday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Jimenez is on the Blue Jays 40-man roster after being protected from the 2021 Rule 5 draft, but he has yet to play above High-A in his four seasons in the Toronto system. He should start the season Double-A with an outside shot of playing for the Blue Jays before the end of 2023.

Basabe was optioned to minor-league camp by the Rays on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Basabe was added to the 40-man roster over the winter after a breakout 2022 season, though he was never a real option to make the Rays out of spring training. The 22-year-old did slash an impressive .324/.385/.462 with 21 steals last season, and even with Tampa Bay's impressive infield depth, he could be an option for the club at some point in 2023.

Boston optioned Hamilton to Triple-A Worcester on Monday.

The 25-year-old Hamilton may not be polished enough as a hitter to profile as a realistic everyday player for Boston down the road, but his elite speed was enough to earn a spot on the Red Sox's 40-man roster this offseason. After impressing in a small sample of action in the Grapefruit League -- Hamilton got on base at a .370 clip and went 5-for-5 on stolen-base attempts over his first 13 games -- he'll now get the chance to hone his skills with Boston's top minor-league affiliate to begin the 2023 season.

Mariners manager Scott Servais said Monday that Crawford has a "soggy" right shoulder and will be limited to designated-hitter duties in Tuesday's Cactus League game versus the Royals, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Despite Servais' unique description of Crawford's injury, the shortstop isn't believed to be dealing with anything more than the typical soreness that often sets in for veteran players during the latter stages of spring training. The Mariners will take it easy on the 28-year-old by having him play DH on Tuesday, but he should be back in the field at shortstop before long to erase any concerns about his health heading into Opening Day.

The Rangers optioned Ornelas to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday.

Ornelas was added to the team's 40-man roster this offseason after a nice showing in 2022 at Double-A Frisco, and he's followed up with an .826 OPS this spring. However, 22-year-old is in need of more seasoning and will open the 2023 campaign with Round Rock.

Seager went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Friday's spring game against the Athletics.

Unlike his first season with Texas, when Seager struggled during the spring and had the second-lowest OPS (.772) of his career, the shortstop's having a strong Cactus League in 2023. He's 10-for-21 with a 1.474 OPS, three home runs and eight RBI. He had similarly strong springs in 2020 and 2021 and went on to post a .943 and .915 OPS, respectively.

Story (elbow) fielded grounders Thursday in Red Sox camp, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

It was his first time doing any on-field baseball activity since he underwent internal brace surgery in January to repair the UCL in his right elbow. "It's something small in the grand scheme of things," Story said Friday. "But in the progression it's big... It was a good day." The positive step here is encouraging, but there remains no exact timetable for when the 30-year-old infielder might return to action for Boston. He can be ruled out through at least the first half of the 2023 campaign.

Perez (back) was optioned to Triple-A Toledo by the Tigers on Friday.

Perez was never going to crack the Opening Day roster, but a back injury he suffered prior to camp cinched it. When he's ready to play for Toledo, it will be his first taste of Triple-A.

Crawford is hitting .267 (3-for-15) with two RBI, three walks and three runs across seven Cactus League games thus far.

Crawford has yet to provide an extra-base hit, but he's been a fairly constant presence on the basepaths and has only struck out twice. The veteran shortstop saw a 30-point drop in batting average last season after a career-best .273 figure in 2021, but that also came with a 45-point reduction in BABIP from .320 to .275. Additionally, Crawford lowered his strikeout rate to a career-low 13.3 percent and walked at his highest clip (11.3 percent) since his initial 23-game big-league cup of coffee back in 2017. An uptick in luck when putting the ball in play could see his average bounce back in 2023.

Correa has left Twins camp in preparation for the birth of his second son, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Correa figures to be away for a handful of days to take care of more important business before returning to camp. He's 3-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts so far during Grapefruit League play.