MLB Player News

The Twins reassigned Arcia to minor-league camp Tuesday.

The veteran infielder was unable to win a reserve role as a non-roster invitee this spring. Arcia slashed only .202/.238/.291 across 214 plate appearances between Atlanta and Colorado in 2025 and is set to open 2026 at Triple-A St. Paul.

Lindor (hand) is expected to be good to go for Thursday's Opening Day game against the Pirates, MLB.com reports.

The veteran shortstop made his Grapefruit League debut in mid-March after recovering from surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left hand, and he went 3-for-19 with a walk and four strikeouts in five games. There's yet to be any official confirmation that Lindor will be ready for Thursday's season opener -- the 32-year-old has pointedly declined to commit to being available so far -- but there's been no indications to this point that he won't be good to go.

The Tigers optioned Perez to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The 26-year-old was the early favorite to begin the season as Detroit's primary right fielder, but he'll instead open the campaign in the minors after batting .158 (6-for-38) with no extra-base hits across 16 spring training games. Top prospect Kevin McGonigle is essentially the roster replacement for Perez, but it'll likely be Matt Vierling that benefits the most from the demotion. Perez had a .738 OPS in 383 plate appearances during the regular season last year and should still get a look with the Tigers at some point in 2026.

McLain (illness) is starting at second base and batting second in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Brewers, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

McLain was unavailable for Monday's exhibition game due to an illness, but he's good to go after taking a day to recover. The second baseman will begin the season batting second for the Reds after posting a .220/.300/.343 slash line with 15 homers and 18 steals in 147 regular-season games last year.

Nunez appears to be in line to be the Nationals' regular second baseman this season, Jessica Camerato and Paige Leckie of MLB.com report.

Luis Garcia is expected to shirt to first base, opening up the keystone for Nunez. The 25-year-old should provide a defensive upgrade over Garcia, but it remains to be seen how much offense Nunez can supply, as he comes into 2026 with a career .238/.329/.343 slash line in 170 big-league plate appearances. Nunez could make an impact on the basepaths, however, having gone 17-for-20 on steal attempts so far in his career before being successful in all seven of his SB attempts this spring.

The Tigers optioned Cruz to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports.

Cruz slashed .270/.341/.324 with a couple stolen bases during Grapefruit League action. The 27-year-old has yet to see any action at the major-league level but is a good bet to debut at some point for the Tigers this season.

McGonigle will be included on the Tigers' Opening Day roster, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The 21-year-old shortstop produced a .250/.411/.477 slash line with two doubles, a triple, two homers, two steals and a 11:9 K:BB across 56 plate appearances during spring training, which was apparently enough to convince the Tigers that he's ready to make his MLB debut despite never seeing action at the Triple-A level. McGonigle, who is one of the top prospects in baseball, split most of last season between High-A and Double-A, finishing the year with a combined 19 home runs, 10 stolen bases and a .991 OPS in 88 games. He still needs to officially be added to the big-league roster but should step in as Detroit's shortstop Opening Day in San Diego on Thursday.

The Rays recalled Williams from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and will have him start at shortstop in Thursday's season opener at St. Louis, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The injury to Taylor Walls (oblique) made Williams' call-up likely, and the Rays have now made it official. Williams had a solid showing this spring with a .779 OPS, one home run and one stolen base, though it came with a 1:7 BB:K. The 22-year-old has major swing-and-miss issues, but Williams could hit for enough power and steal enough bases to be a viable fantasy contributor even if he proves a drag in the batting-average category.

Saggese is in the mix to start games in left field for the Cardinals while Lars Nootbaar (heels) is shelved, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

An infielder by trade, Saggese learned the outfield on the fly this spring and missed out on some development time while on Team Italy's roster for the World Baseball Classic. However, he showed enough aptitude defensively in the outfield -- and also posted a .907 OPS this spring -- to convince the Cardinals to carry him on the Opening Day roster. Nathan Church and Jose Fermin will also see action in left field, and Fermin and Saggese are options to play several other positions, as well. Nootbaar is being evaluated for potential placement on the 60-day injured list, so the trio of competitors could have ample time to make a good impression.

The Rangers informed Wade on Monday that he won't be included on the Opening Day roster, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

Wade and Mark Canha are two non-roster invitees that lost out on spots, while the Rangers announced Ezequiel Duran, Sam Haggerty and Andrew McCutchen secured bench jobs. Texas hopes Wade is willing to stick with the organization as a depth option at Triple-A Round Rock.