MLB Player News

Mondesi (shoulder) will play in games this spring, but not in Friday's spring opener against the Rangers, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Mondesi underwent shoulder surgery at the end of last season, but he remains on track for Opening Day, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports. If he suffers a setback, Nicky Lopez would likely start at shortstop to open the season.

Crawford spent the offseason working with strength and conditioning coach James Clifton and put on 10 pounds of muscle, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old frequently made a mockery of big-league pitching during a breakout June last season, slashing .338/.413/.569 with two home runs and 17 RBI across 16 games during the month. However, that surge was followed by a significant downturn over the last three months of the season, with Crawford hitting just .178 across his final 60 games and also missing some time due to a strained right hamstring. Both the extended slump and the injury pointed toward a need for Crawford to get stronger, hence his diligent offseason program aimed at achieving that goal. The promising shortstop, who flashed an improve glove last season, says he already feels the increased strength paying dividends in terms of both the exit velocity of his batted balls and his throws across the diamond.

Gordon won't join the Mariners on Tuesday for the team's first full-squad workout while he awaits the birth of his first child, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Expect Gordon to remain at home for most of the week to spend time with his expanding family. The 31-year-old shouldn't be too far behind his teammates once he eventually reports to camp, but his exact role for the upcoming season likely won't be fleshed out until closer to Opening Day. With Seattle eyeing Shed Long and J.P. Crawford for everyday jobs in the middle infield and a host of youngsters competing for regular reps in the outfield, Gordon could be in store for more of a utility gig in 2020.

Wendle said Sunday that he enters spring training with no restrictions after an injury-plagued 2019 season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Though Wendle ended the past season on the field, the Rays were cautious with his usage down the stretch after he required three stints on the injured list, all of which were at least three weeks in length. Complications from a broken wrist in particular sapped Wendle's power, with the 29-year-old finishing the campaign with a lowly .633 OPS, a 156-point decline from 2018. After a full offseason to rest up and strengthen the wrist, Wendle believes he'll be back in top form. Wendle may not have a regular spot in the lineup waiting for him, however, as he'll likely be ticketed for top backup duties at three infield spots if the Rays are at full strength heading into Opening Day.

Bichette is expected to begin the season hitting leadoff, followed by Cavan Biggio and Vlad Guerrero Jr., Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.

It's a little unusual for a manager to be setting his regular-season batting order this early, but given the nature of the Jays roster it's no surprise that Charlie Montoyo plans to put his trio of talented youngsters right at the top. Hitting leadoff should afford Bichette plenty of stolen-base opportunities, but he'll need to improve on his 4-for-8 performance in the majors last year if he wants to see consistent green lights.

Fletcher could experience increased playing time in right field this season according to Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register.

With the Angels' offseason addition of Anthony Rendon and the return of Tommy La Stella, it is likely that Fletcher will be required to play the outfield more often. "The challenge is that I like Fletcher on the field as much as possible. The fact that David is versatile to play different positions is going to matter," said manager Joe Maddon. Right fielder Brian Goodwin hits left-handed but has reverse splits, with a significantly higher career OPS against southpaws compared to righties, so it's possible Fletcher begins the year in a platoon role alongside Goodwin. The 25-year-old will look to build upon a productive .290/.350/.384 slashline with 83 runs scored in 653 plate appearances in 2019.

Bogaerts will be limited for the next few days due to a sore ankle, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

The 27-year-old will get a slightly late start to spring training due to the ankle issue, but it's not expected to be a long-term concern. Bogaerts should return to action sometime this week and could be available for the beginning of Grapefruit League games Saturday.

The Blue Jays plan to give Bichette a heavy workload at shortstop in 2020, so much that they don't intend to carry a true shortstop as his backup, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.

Brandon Drury will be used as a super-utility player and represents Bichette's most likely backup. In addition to the full-time role he'll handle at shortstop, Bichette is projected to serve as the Blue Jays' leadoff man, as manager Charlie Montoyo tabbed him as the favorite for those duties Sunday, per Hazel Mae of Sportsnet.

Velazquez was designated for assignment Friday.

The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the newly signed Domingo Santana. Velazquez is just 25 years old and can play both infield and outfield, which could entice a team to claim him off waivers, though he hasn't done much in the big leagues yet, hitting .152/.222/.242 in a small sample of 36 plate appearances.

Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Erik Neander said "we want Wander to be in our plans this year" during the team's Fan Fest last weekend, Mari Faiello of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

This is going to be a common topic for the Rays this spring and throughout the season, and the team's brass is not shying away from the notion that the game's top prospect could debut in his age-19 season. He walked almost twice as much as he struck out while slashing .339/.408/.464 at High-A as an 18-year-old, so he could make quick work of Double-A and Triple-A pitching. If Tampa is really serious about fast-tracking him, he could even skip one of those levels on his path to the majors. Given Willy Adames' defensive prowess at shortstop, Franco will likely debut at the keystone.