MLB Player News

Diaz (hamstring) will bat ninth as the designated hitter in Friday's spring game against the Marlins, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

The 30-year-old hasn't seen game action since March 17 due to hamstring tightness, but he'll return to the lineup for Friday's contest. Diaz shouldn't have an issue being ready for Opening Day if he's cleared to play in the field within the next few days.

Bichette went 3-for-3 with his first two home runs of the spring in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Both blasts went to the opposite field and came off big-league-caliber arms in Deivi Garcia and Luis Cessa. Bichette had a sluggish start to camp, but he's heating up at the right time, and the 23-year-old now sports a .289/.400/.500 slash line with a 7:12 BB:K through 45 plate appearances this spring.

Diaz won't play in Wednesday's spring game against the Nationals due to hamstring tightness, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dusty Baker said that Diaz should be able to play Thursday after being held out Wednesday, and the issue isn't expected to impact the 30-year-old's availability for Opening Day. Diaz has appeared in 11 Grapefruit League games and has slashed .313/.376/.438 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs, five walks and two strikeouts.

Bogaerts went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's spring game against Atlanta.

Bogaerts, who missed the first two weeks of Grapefruit League play due to a shoulder injury, launched his first home run of spring training. He's managed to get 25 Grapefruit League plate appearances and should be fine for the regular season.

Anderson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Monday's spring game against San Francisco.

He launched his first Cactus League home run leading off the bottom of the first inning. Anderson then plated a second run with his second-inning double. After a slow start, Anderson is dialing in his swing, as he's gone 3-for-8 with three extra-base hits in the last two games.

Witt will spend some time in the outfield over the next few weeks as he looks to expand his defensive versatility, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Despite receiving a considerable amount of hype throughout camp, Witt will be opening the season in the minors, hardly a surprise given that he's played all of 37 games at the professional level, all in rookie ball. One of the issues regarding his eventual ascension to the big leagues, which could come later this year if he looks good in the minors, is what position he'll play, as he shares his primary spot (shortstop) with one of the Royals' best young players, Adalberto Mondesi. Moving one of them to second is the most obvious solution, as Nicky Lopez hasn't looked like an everyday player, though showing the ability to play somewhere in the outfield will give Witt additional paths to playing time.

Witt won't make Kansas City's Opening Day roster and was reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The 20-year-old put himself in roster consideration with a strong start to spring training, but he cooled off recently and will begin the season in the minors. It's not much of a surprise, as Witt has only 164 professional at-bats under his belt after playing in 37 games at rookie ball in 2019. Kansas City's top prospect may end up at Double-A and could still end up making his major-league debut in 2021.

Chang (neck) is starting Saturday's spring game against the White Sox.

Chang was scratched from Thursday's lineup due to neck soreness, but he'll be back in action Saturday after a brief absence. Barring any setbacks, Chang has a good chance of securing a bench role on the major-league roster to begin the regular season.

Downs (side) will be available for Saturday's spring game against the Braves, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 22-year-old has been sidelined this week after suffering an injury to his left side last weekend, but he should return to game action Saturday. Downs played 12 games at Double-A in 2019, but he could open 2021 at the Triple-A level after working at the alternate training site last season.

Wendle, who'd gone 0-for-10 with four strikeouts over his first six Grapefruit League games, went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run in a Grapefruit League win over the Pirates on Wednesday.

Thanks to the small sample, Wendle's spring average sprung to .231 with the productive performance. Despite his early struggles, there's not much doubt about the veteran's prowess at the plate after he bounced back from a poor 2019 with a solid .286/.342/.435 slash that included 15 extra-base hits (nine doubles, two triples, four home runs) and 17 RBI across 184 plate appearances in 2020.