MLB Player News

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.

Mondesi will be sidelined for a couple days due to arm soreness, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports.

Manager Ned Yost said that the injury was nothing serious and that Mondesi should be back in action by the weekend. Thus far, Mondesi has played in five Cactus League games, going 4-for-13 with one home run, four RBI and one triple while competing for a job in the Royals' infield.

Mateo (knee) will enter Tuesday's spring game against the Rangers at shortstop to replace Marcus Semien, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Further solidifying that the infield prospect's knee issue is behind him, Mateo is listed as an available player on the Athletics' lineup card for Tuesday's bout. Mateo aggravated a left knee sprain in late February and missed the first batch of spring games. He'll now be able to play uninhibited with the big-league club before heading back to Double-A for the regular season.

Mateo (knee) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Rangers, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

The promising prospect has been slowed by the injury in the early going of spring training, but he's apparently well enough to make his long-awaited debut. Mateo's blinding speed is a subject of considerable intrigue among the coaching staff and his teammates, yet despite his superior physical gifts, the 22-year-old is expected to begin the regular season at Triple-A Nashville. Mateo hit .292 with four home runs and 20 RBI while also stealing 13 bases with Double-A Midland following his arrival from the Yankees in the Sonny Gray trade last summer. According to executive VP of baseball operations Billy Beane, he could potentially find his way to the big-league club at some point in 2018.

Anderson (personal) went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Sunday against the Padres.

Anderson's brief absence from the team to tend to a personal matter came to an end, as he returned to action Sunday. Through this point, Anderson is hitting .188 over 16 at-bats this spring.

Mateo (knee) ran the bases without issue Saturday and is scheduled for another workout Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Mateo has a chance to be in the lineup for Tuesday's spring game, but that is slightly dependent on the outcome of Monday's workout. The minor-league infielder has been dealing with the knee issue for nearly two weeks, but this will likely end up a blip on the radar when the 22-year-old makes his major-league debut further down the road.

Manager Alex Cora and hitting coach Tim Hyers want Bogaerts to be more aggressive at the plate, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Bogaerts has gotten into the habit of taking pitches, including pitches down the middle of the plate he can drive. It's a passive approach that may have led to his diminished power in 2017, when he hit 10 home runs, down from the 21 he hit in 2016. Bogaerts swung at a career-low 42 percent of pitches last season, including fewer than 12 percent of first pitches. "He's an impressive young man who has power," Hyers said. "The more balls he hits over the center of the plate and where he's looking, he can do more damage and put some fear in the pitchers instead of just trying to put the ball in play." The challenge for Bogaerts will be to train his body to be more aggressive and not take a hittable strike for the sake of taking a pitch.

Mateo (knee) will run the bases Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Mateo suffered a knee sprain at the start of camp and has been limited in practice thus far. The young shortstop has played just 60 games at the Double-A level and isn't a candidate to start the year in the majors, so this injury should have little effect on his eventual ETA.

Anderson is away from the team while dealing with a personal matter. He is day-to-day.

He is hitting .231 with one home run in 13 at-bats this spring, but is currently away from the team. Anderson is an appealing source of power and speed later in drafts (current NFBC ADP of 197.4). While he hit 17 home runs and stole 15 bases in 146 games last season, a 20/20 season isn't out of the question in the coming years.

Gordon, who went hitless over three at-bats in a 4-3 Cactus League loss to the Rangers on Thursday, is nevertheless hitting .364 (4-for-11) with a double, a home run, three RBI and three runs over his first five spring training games.

The speedster has wasted no time in making a strong impression on his new Mariners teammates, even launching a rare round tripper against the Cubs last Monday. Gordon officially made the move to center field upon his arrival in Seattle, as the seemingly ageless Robinson Cano remains a mainstay at second base. While he has limited experience playing the outfield, Gordon's physical skills should certainly carry him to a respectable defensive performance at a minimum. There'll be more familiarity on the offensive side, as Gordon is slated to fill the same leadoff role he proved quite adept at in Miami. Given his above-average ability to make contact (career-low 13.4 percent strikeout rate last season), elite speed and quality of hitters behind him, he'll be primed for a potentially spectacular run total during the coming campaign.