MLB Player News

The Marlins have announced their starting lineup for Monday's Opening Day matchup against the Braves in Miami, with offseason acquisition Michael Morse slotted into the cleanup spot.

Morse is coming off a hot spring in which he hit .347/.429/.673 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 29 at-bats. He'll hit behind No. 3 hitter Giancarlo Stanton and ahead of third baseman Martin Prado.

The full Marlins lineup: 2B Dee Gordon, LF Christian Yelich, RF Stanton, 1B Morse, 3B Prado, CF Marcell Ozuna, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, SP Henderson Alvarez.

Angels first baseman Efren Navarro, infielder Taylor Featherston and pitcher Drew Rucinski have made the team's initial 25-man roster, MLB.com reports.

Featherston, a Rule 5 pick from Colorado, will serve as the team's utility infielder; he has yet to play above the Double-A level.

"Taylor has shown extraordinary athleticism at three positions," manager Mike Scioscia said Saturday. "That's special. His defense plays at any level. He's an exciting player. We'll see where it leads to."

Navarro, who can also play in the outfield, won the final bench spot over outfielder Daniel Robertson.

Rucinski is set to pitch out of the bullpen, Scioscia said, adding that he also could be tabbed to start April 14, the first time the team's needs a fifth starter.

Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed left Saturday's game after he was hit in the left arm by a pitch, manager Chip Hale said after the game per MLB.com.

Ahmed said after the game he was fine, but he will be re-evaluated Sunday. He has hit .311 with six doubles and five RBI in 61 plate appearances this spring.

Braves infielder Pedro Ciriaco is expected to earn the final bench spot on Atlanta's Opening Day roster, according to MLB.com. He has slashed .368/.373/.491 with two doubles, one triple, one home run and 14 RBI over 57 at-bats this spring.

The Mets are expected to go with an eight-man bullpen and a four-man bench, snubbing Eric Campbell from an Opening Day roster spot, according to ESPN.

Campbell hit .255 (14 for 55) with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI in 24 Grapefruit League games. The four-man bench will include Ruben Tejada, John Mayberry Jr., Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Anthony Recker.

Meanwhile, the eight-man bullpen will include Rafael Montero, Jeurys Familia, Jerry Blevins, Jenrry Mejia, Alex Torres, Carlos Torres, Sean Gilmartin, and Buddy Carlyle .

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale announced Nick Ahmed will start at shortstop and Chris Owings will start at second base to begin the season, according to MLB.com. As a result, Aaron Hill will come off of the bench. 

Hale said this decision was based on the performance of the three infielders during the spring. 

This spring, and prior to Friday night's game against the Cubs, Ahmed has hit .328 with six doubles and five RBI. Owings has hit .244 with seven RBI. Hill has hit just .189 with three RBI. 

Among the Indians roster moves Thursday, they demoted first baseman Jesus Aguilar to Triple-A Columbus. 

They also announced reliever Austin Adams has made the team, while infielder Michael Martinez has not. 

Lastly, the team announced infielder Zach Walters will start the year on the disabled list due to an oblique injury.

Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts is struggling to find a comfortable stance at the plate, this spring. 

Bogaerts struggled through a slump last season, when he hit .240. He's hitting .243 this spring, and manager John Farrell said he looks "jumpy" at bat, per the Providence Journal.  

"It’s just some stuff I’d been doing a lot last year, and it’s carrying over this year," Bogaerts said. "I’m diving to the ball. I have to stay more square to the ball."

If Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy begins the season on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury, the team is more likely to choose Danny Muno over prospect Matt Reynolds to replace him on the roster, a team source told ESPN.

If Murphy is out, the Mets prefer to have Muno and Ruben Tejada play at second base, with Reynolds being sent to Triple-A to start at shortstop.

One of the reasons the Mets are considering sending Reynolds to the minors is because the team doesn't want to avoid a dilemma in case Reynolds thrives in Murphy's absence and manager Terry Collins wants to keep him around as a bench option. They do not want to start his MLB service time for a backup role.

Diamondbacks manger Chip Hale may favor shortstop Nick Ahmed as the starter when the season begins, but contrary to a report, he is not ready to give him that title just yet, reports MLB.com.

"To name him the starter is hard to do, because we still have camp left," Hale said. "I'm not ready to do that. He's been very impressive. [Gammons] was assuming because of the way we were glowing about [Ahmed]."

The organization still likes what they have seen from Chris Owings, who could still be in the mix.

"We knew Owings, if he was healthy, was going to play somewhere," general manager Dave Stewart said. "We knew he was going to be a starter for us."