MLB Player News

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Friday that Rocchio will begin the season receiving the "bulk" of the playing time at shortstop, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

The 23-year-old is one of Cleveland's top prospects and had a decent showing during spring training with a .270/.308/.459 slash line in 13 games. Rocchio hit just seven home runs in 116 games at Triple-A Columbus last season, but he hit .280, stole 25 bases and had a 60:66 BB:K, so he could get on base enough to provide fantasy managers some value on the basepaths.

Merrill went 2-for-5 with a double and scored two runs in Thursday's 15-11 win over the Dodgers in the second game of the Seoul Series.

After going hitless in his first MLB game Wednesday, Merrill collected his first big-league knock with a third-inning single off Michael Grove on Thursday. The rookie added a leadoff double in the fifth frame, and he came around to score following both of his hits. Merrill has gone 2-for-8 with three strikeouts through two contests, and he could have a moderately long leash in center field given the team's lack of outfield depth this season.

Hamilton was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

Hamilton made a brief big-league debut in 2023 and struggled to a .121/.256/.182 line across only 39 plate appearances. He's been a prolific base stealer at every minor-league level, which makes him a name to monitor should he get another chance in Boston.

Mateo was informed Thursday he will be a member of the Orioles' Opening Day roster, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mateo will be a part of the major-league roster to open the 2024 campaign according to manager Brandon Hyde. The shortstop produced an impressive .343 average with two homers, eight RBI, six runs and a stolen base over 35 at-bats in 14 games this spring. With Gunnar Henderson likely to handle the majority of the work at shortstop this season, Mateo will seemingly operate as a utility option to begin 2024.

Peguero (illness) is starting at second base in Thursday's spring game against Toronto.

Peguero has been out of action since March 13 due to a virus, but his illness appears to have subsided ahead of Thursday's contest. Peguero went 7-for-24 with a homer and three RBI during Grapefruit League play before getting sick, and he remains the favorite to start at second base on Opening Day.

Lee was removed from Thursday's Grapefruit League game versus the Nationals due to a lower-back spasm, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Lee grounded into a double play in his lone plate appearance before exiting. Consider the young infielder day-to-day for the time being. Lee is expected to begin the season at Triple-A St. Paul.

The Guardians optioned Tena to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

Tena didn't hit well in 18 major-league games last season, and his struggles have followed him into spring training with a .219/.289/.281 slash line. Tena has played in just 20 Triple-A games in his career, so perhaps spending more time in the minors to develop will help establish himself at the plate.

Betts went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, a walk, two total runs and six total RBI in Thursday's loss to San Diego in the second game of the Seoul Series.

The Padres built an early 9-2 lead before Betts almost single-handedly brought the Dodgers back into contention with a two-run double in the third inning, a two-run homer in the fifth and a two-run single in the eighth. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, the six RBI were his most in a game since 2017 and tied for the third-most in any game in his career. Betts is off to a fast start in his 11th big-league campaign -- during the season-opening two-game set in South Korea, Betts went 6-for-9 with seven total RBI.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Crawford (hand) is aiming to return to game action this weekend, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Crawford hasn't played since being hit on the hand/wrist area by a pitch Sunday, but his return to the Grapefruit League lineup looks to be imminent. The 37-year-old is slated to back up Masyn Winn at shortstop for the Cardinals this season.

Clement appears to have won a spot on the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster following the trade of Santiago Espinal to the Reds on Wednesday, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

Clement was likely in the lead for an infield utility role anyway, but shipping out Espinal clarifies the roster picture for Toronto. The 27-year-old has been stunningly productive this spring, batting .375 (15-for-40) with three homers, two triples, two steals and only one strikeout, but his career .231/.279/.299 slash line through 364 big-league plate appearances is probably a better reflection of his fantasy appeal. It's also not clear just how much playing time Clement will get given that the Jays already have a number of players with versatile defensive portfolios, including Cavan Biggio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but Espinal faced similar competition in 2023 and still saw 254 PAs over 93 games.