MLB Player News

Velazquez is in the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Velazquez has been out since Tuesday after getting hit in the head by a pitch. The 23-year-old has yet to reach Triple-A and hit .235/.297/.374 in 414 plate appearances for Double-A Montgomery last year.

Bogaerts is Boston's likely No. 5 hitter to start the season, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The hope was that Bogaerts would get to join Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez in the top four of Boston's lineup, but Hanley Ramirez is expected to open the season as the team's No. 3 hitter, pushing Bogaerts down to fifth in the order. While this obviously would result in slightly fewer plate appearances, fewer runs and possibly a bump in RBI, a lot can change over the coming weeks/months, and it would not be surprising if Bogaerts earned a higher spot in the lineup as the season goes on. He is hitting .323 with one home run in 31 spring at-bats.

Camargo (back/oblique) may not be ready by Opening Day, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The Braves are reportedly optimistic but not certain that Camargo will be recovered from his sore back and oblique by Opening Day. When healthy, the 24-year-old is expected to be the team's primary third baseman. He hit .299 last year in 82 games, though that was aided by an unsustainable .364 BABIP, and he hit just four home runs.

Turner has an ingrown toenail and will be held out of the Nationals' Grapefruit League game Monday against the Marlins, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

The issue is considered minor and Turner expects to return to spring action as soon as Tuesday. With Turner getting the day off Monday, Matt Reynolds will pick up the start at shortstop.

Camargo (back/oblique) will resume swinging a bat Monday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

If Camargo incurs no renewed soreness with his back or oblique while swinging Monday, the infielder could be cleared to return to Grapefruit League action Wednesday or Thursday. After hitting .299 over 256 plate appearances in a half season of action with the big club in 2017, Camargo is expected to open the season as the Braves' primary third baseman.

The Blue Jays optioned Urena to their minor-league camp Sunday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Urena saw regular run with the Blue Jays as a September callup a season ago but managed a sickly .206/.270/.309 line across 75 plate appearances. The 22-year-old is regarded as little more than an average defender in the middle infield, so he'll need to raise his production at the plate at Double-A New Hampshire or Triple-A Buffalo this season before warranting another look from the big club.

Baez (hamstring), who had been sidelined the previous nine days, went 1-for-3 in Saturday's Cactus League loss to the Indians.

Baez also made an athletic play in the field to take away a hit, and he said he felt good after the game, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. "Everything was good," Baez said. "I'm back to 100 percent." The hamstring cramping was believed to be caused by dehydration, and the young infielder should be good to go moving forward.

Baez (hamstring) is in the lineup for Saturday's Cactus League game against the Indians, playing second base and batting second.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Thursday that Baez would return to the lineup Saturday, so the young infielder seems right on schedule in his return from a tight hamstring. Baez hasn't played in nine days, but the Cubs were just being overly cautious, and he should be good to go for Opening Day.

Anderson batted seventh in the order Friday and could find himself in the lower third of the lineup this season, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Manager Rick Renteria was batting Anderson second during spring training, but feels the free-swinging shortstop is a better fit lower in the order. He's not much of a table-setter -- Anderson walked 13 times and had a .276 OBP in 2017 -- and Renteria feels the lineup can take advantage of Anderson's high batting average on balls in play (.347 for his career). "I don't want to change who he is," Renteria said. "Timmy puts the bat on the ball a lot and when he does it's a positive outcome. Not putting him in a situation where we're worrying about him getting on, as opposed to if guys are on base we know his ball in play is high and he's driving in a few more runs." Anderson was at his most productive last season when he hit seventh in the order (.730 OPS).

Camargo (back) could remain sidelined until March 22 or 23 as the Braves exercise caution with him, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The original plan was to have Camargo rejoin the lineup after the Braves' off day March 20, but manager Brian Sntiker indicated Thursday that his return could be delayed by another couple of days. The third baseman could take some swings off a tee this weekend, after which his timetable should become clearer, but Camargo already has 33 spring plate appearances under his belt and the organization is in no hurry to rush him back onto the field.