MLB Player News

The Rays optioned Adames to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Adames seemingly has little left to prove in the minors after slashing .277/.360/.415 with 10 home runs and 11 steals across 578 plate appearances with Durham last season, so the Rays' top prospect may not be in store for a lengthy stay at Triple-A to begin the 2018 campaign. The 22-year-old is likely to emerge as an everyday option for Tampa Bay at either second base or shortstop at some point during the upcoming season.

Adrianza is unavailable for Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays due to a minor left calf strain, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The injury isn't expected to keep Adrianza out of action for more than a few days. The 28-year-old is coming off a season in which he logged a career-high 186 plate appearances, but don't expect him to see much additional work in 2018 with the Twins earmarking him for a utility role.

Gordon blasted two home runs over three at-bats in Friday's 10-7 Cactus League loss to the Giants.

Gordon first home run went deep off starter Jeff Samardzija in the third and he followed it up with a solo shot off Sam Dyson in the fifth. The offseason acquisition is displaying unprecedented power this spring, considering he totaled just two round trippers over 653 at-bats last season in Miami. While it's unlikely the increased pop carries over into the regular season, Gordon's rapid acclimation to his new center field spot and his overall play (.391 average over nine games) offer plenty of reason for optimism.

The Astros renewed Correa's contract, the Associated Press reports. He'll earn $1 million for the 2018 season.

That price tag seems like a bargain for a player like Correa, who whacked 24 home runs and had a .941 OPS in 109 games from the shortstop position in 2017, but the 23-year-old is still in his pre-arbitration years. The salary is the second-most ever allotted to a pre-arb player, behind only Kris Bryant ($1.05 million in 2017) of the Cubs. Correa will reprise his role as the Astros' starting shortstop in 2018 and, given better health, should push for 30 homers and a greater salary next offseason when he qualifies for arbitration.

Mondesi (shoulder) will not throw for the next five days, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports.

Mondesi has been out since Wednesday with soreness. The injury isn't considered serious and Mondesi was originally expected to be back in action this weekend. He could still see game time as a designated hitter in the next few days, but it looks like he won't be fully back until at least the middle of next week.

Manager Terry Francona reported Wednesday that Lindor will likely bat leadoff for the Indians again in 2018, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Lindor secured an everyday spot at the top of the lineup in early August last season and finished the 2017 campaign with a .281 average, 18 home runs and 47 RBI in his 68 games as the team's leadoff man. Francona made it clear that he has no reason to move Lindor out of that spot this season and that he especially likes the idea of having a switch-hitter batting first. The 24-year-old will look to eclipse the 100-run threshold in 2018 after crossing home plate exactly 99 times in each of the past two seasons.

Gordon, who went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 7-3 Cactus League loss to the Athletics, nevertheless made a positive impact when he cut down Mark Canha trying to advance to third base, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

The converted infielder has already utilized his elite speed to make several nice running catches in the gaps this spring, but Wednesday marked his first truly challenging throw with a man trying to advance. The second-inning play came after Mariners starter Marco Gonzales had overthrown a pickoff attempt that Gordon had alertly backed up. He then put all of his 170 pounds into a picture-perfect laser to Gordon Beckham at third that nailed Canha and left the former Marlin sprawled at his center field spot momentarily. The throw, along with another in the sixth that had plenty of juice but not enough accuracy to get a tagging Franklin Barreto at third, were deemed sensational but not surprising by manager Scott Servais, who's been raving about his offseason acquisition's baseball IQ since camp opened. "Dee made a great throw, and that was awesome to see," Servais said. "He's got plenty [of arm strength] and very accurate. He almost got the other guy, too, if it had been down just a hair. He's an exciting player. Obviously the speed, but the arm, the bat, it's the whole package."

Mateo (knee) went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 5-3 Cactus League win over the Rangers.

The young speed merchant's long-awaited Cactus League debut was ultimately a dud from a statistical perspective, but all that matters is that he's back on the field. Mateo entered the game at shortstop for Marcus Semien in the fifth and promptly went down on strikes in both the seventh and eighth innings. The 22-year-old is likely to see plenty of reps during the duration of the exhibition slate, assuming there are no further issues with the knee.

Adames is in the competition for the Rays' second-base job alongside Daniel Robertson, Joey Wendle and Micah Johnson, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Manager Kevin Cash said that the recent trade of Ryan Schimpf to the Braves on Monday opened up a little more competition at the keystone, paving the way for Adames to receive more reps in the Grapefruit League. Adames has gone 6-for-15 with one home run, five RBI and one double in seven outings this spring, The 22-year-old is likely a shortstop long term due to his plus arm strength and excellent hands, but second base is seemingly his only path to early-season playing time.

Wendle is competing for the Rays' second-base job alongside Daniel Robertson, Micah Johnson and Willy Adames this spring, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Manager Kevin Cash said that the recent trade of Ryan Schimpf to the Braves on Monday opened up a little more competition at the keystone, paving the way for Wendle to receive more reps in the Grapefruit League. The 27-year-old has only appeared in 36 major-league games over the course of his career, hitting .266/.305/.339 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 109 at-bats.