MLB Player News

Manager Chip Hale said Friday that Owings, Nick Ahmed and Jean Segura will rotate around between second base and shortstop to start the season, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

General manager Dave Stewart had previously expressed some reluctance to rotate the three players between the two middle-infield spots, but the team will go that route to begin the year. Segura is expected to see everyday at-bats, so Owings and Ahmed, both right-handed hitters, will probably play only on a part-time basis.

Crawford is batting .333 with a 1.012 OPS through 51 spring plate appearances.

After having a breakout year during his age-28 season, fantasy owners are wondering if Crawford can come close to last year's All-Star performance. While spring training stats don't hold a lot of weight, it is good to see him repeating his power numbers early on in 2016. Given the scarcity of fantasy-friendly shortstops, he should be considered a premium option to start the season.

Seager (knee) went 2-for-2 with a run scored Thursday against the Angels.

He did make an error, but Seager showed no ill effects of his sore knee. He's set to play Friday and Saturday as well and is good to go for Opening Day.

Mateo notched 1-for-2 day with 2 RBI and a run for the Yankees on Thursday against Detroit.

This was likely Mateo's best game of the spring as he only has a total of three RBI in his 10 games played. He comes into Opening Day as the Yankees top prospect, but it's hard to tell if he'll have many opportunities with Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro manning the middle of the infield.

Crawford will open the season at Double-A Reading, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Crawford, 21, is the top prospect in the Phillies' minor league system. He hit .265/.354/.407 with five home runs and seven steals in 351 at-bats with Double-A Reading last season. He should see time in Triple-A later this year and could be pushing for a job in the majors as soon as next season.

Seager (knee) will play in all three games of the Dodgers' exhibition series against the Angels and is set to start at shortstop on Opening Day, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

Thursday's news comes as a huge relief for Seager, who has been slowed by a mild knee sprain since the middle of spring training. He has ramped up his activity in recent days and manager Dave Roberts has maintained that Seager will be ready for Opening Day. Seager is set to play between five and six innings Thursday and will be in the lineup for the following two games in the Freeway Series. Provided that Seager makes it through the weekend without incident, he should be on the diamond when the Dodgers take the field on Opening Day against the Padres.

Tejada (quadriceps) will start the season on the disabled list, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Tejada was in line for lots of playing time as the replacement for the injured Jhonny Peralta (thumb), but that opportunity will be delayed for the time being. In his stead, Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia should both get time at shortstop in the Cardinals lineup.

Tejada left Thursday's spring training game with a quadriceps strain, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Tejada was brought in by the Cardinals to supplement their depth at shortstop with Jhonny Peralta set to be sidelined for most of the first half of the season. If Tejada's injury turns into something that causes him to miss time, the Cardinals will likely have to turn to Jedd Gyorko at short, which would be problematic for their defense up the middle.

The Phillies assigned Jackson to minor league camp Tuesday, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Jackson hit .265 (9-for-34) with one home run in 17 games this spring. He'll give the Phillies some infield depth at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Ciriaco was reassigned to minor league camp Tuesday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Ciriaco was playing very well this spring and had worked his way into the conversation for a roster spot as a utility infielder, but the Rangers have opted to go with Hanser Alberto for that role. The 30-year-old could make his way back up to the majors at some point if he continues to succeed in the minors, though.