MLB Player News

Red Sox manager John Farrell said Bogaerts will go back to third in the batting order for the time being, the Boston Herald reports.

Farrell experimented with Bogaerts batting cleanup for a stretch of games this week, but switched him back to the three-hole Friday. "Chance to get Bogey back in the 3-hole, where maybe he's more comfortable because of the number of at-bats in that spot last year," Farrell said. "We took an opportunity to take a look at (Bogaerts in the 4-hole), but for the time being, he'll be back in the 3-hole."

Featherston is 2-for-20 with a home run this spring.

The Phillies picked up Featherston from the Angels in February. He is expected to open the year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but he could see time in the majors this season if the Phillies lose one of their infielders to an injury.

Mondesi started at shortstop and went 1-for-2 in a split squad spring game Friday. He's hitting .360 (9-for-25) this spring.

Mondesi will begin the season in the minors as there's been little talk of him staying with the big league team. He'll likely begin the season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and could advance rapidly.

Seager (knee) has seen the swelling go down in his knee, and manager Dave Roberts expects him to be ready for Opening Day, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Even if it's not quite on Opening Day, it doesn't sound like it will be much longer. Seager is expected to be the team's regular shortstop, likely hitting somewhere around the six-hole in the lineup.

Swanson was assigned to minor league camp Friday, the Journal-Constitution reports.

As expected, Swanson will begin his rookie season in the minor leagues, though the Braves are yet to announce exactly which level. The No. 1 overall pick is expected to man the shortstop position for multiple levels in 2016, potentially making stops at Double-A Mississippi and Single-A Carolina.

Turner is hitting just .192/.290/.346 through his first 26 spring at-bats, although he is a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.

Danny Espinosa is just 2-for-20 this spring, but Turner still isn't doing enough with the bat to put any real pressure on the Nationals to consider him for the starting job at shortstop. Look for him to begin the season at Triple-A, but a callup could come very quickly once Turner's major league service time, as it applies to arbitration or his eventual eligibility for free agency, is no longer a concern.

Baez will be out for a few days with a jammed thumb, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Baez incurred the injury sliding into first base Wednesday. This doesn't appear to be a very serious injury, so he should return to his super-utility role after a few days rest.

Bogaerts found himself batting cleanup Wednesday for the fourth time this week, CSN New England reports.

Manager John Farrell is toying with the lineup and hinted that it might be something he employs during the regular season. The manager's motivation is two-fold: he'd like to move David Ortiz up to third in order to ensure a first-inning at-bat; and he wants to break up the run of righties at the top of the order with Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Bogaerts. The shortstop doesn't carry the power of a traditional cleanup hitter, but he's developed into a good hitter that can protect Ortiz and possibly get himself a few more RBI opportunities.

Anna went 1-2 with an RBI in Wednesday's spring training matchup with Atlanta.

Anna has had 10 at-bats this spring, scoring four runs and stealing two bases. The 29-year-old shortstop only has 23 career at-bats in the majors, compiling a .136 average during that time. Seeing as how the Cardinals have three shortstops ahead of Anna on their depth chart, he will likely start the 2016 season at Triple-A Memphis where he left off last season.

Gordon went 1-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and a run in Wednesday's spring training game against the Nationals.

Gordon had one of the best seasons in all of baseball last year, posting a batting average of .333 on 205 hits with 58 stolen bases. The 27-year-old has seven hits in 24 plate appearances this spring and will try to achieve a .300/60-steal/100-run season in 2016.