MLB Player News

Edman is expected to receive starts in the leadoff spot for the Cardinals this season, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Denton lists Edman, Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar as options for the leadoff spot. The switch-hitting Edman has dramatic splits with a career .829 OPS versus lefties and .701 OPS against righties. He could wind up batting leadoff when a southpaw is on the mound and drop to the No. 9 spot against right-handers.

Crawford (knee) is starting at shortstop and batting third Wednesday versus the Rangers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford appears like he'll be ready to go for Opening Day after he makes his return to the lineup Wednesday following a multi-game absence due to a sore left knee. The 36-year-old is set to play in his 13th season with the Giants and will remain their everyday shortstop in 2023.

Lopez (groin) will be available as a reserve in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Lopez isn't guaranteed to play Wednesday, but after resuming full baseball activities earlier this week without incident, he looks like he's made a recovery from the left groin injury he picked up while recently playing for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. The 24-year-old is in the mix for a spot on the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster as a utility man.

Turner hit a solo homer in Tuesday's loss to Japan in the World Baseball Classic final.

Turner gave USA a 1-0 lead with a blast over the left-field wall. The shortstop homered five times in the tournament and was arguably the best player in the loaded USA lineup. Turner now returns to camp for the Phillies to get ready for his first season as a member of the Philadelphia roster.

Soto was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake by the Angels on Tuesday.

Soto comes up short in his bid to be a bench option for the Angels to begin 2023. The infielder performed well in an 18-game sample with Los Angeles last year with a .400/.414/.582 slash line over 59 plate appearances. There's a very good chance Soto will be up with the Angels before the end of 2023, but he's likely to spend just as much time -- if not more -- with Salt Lake.

Baez rejoined the Tigers on Monday after hitting .368 with one home run, three doubles, six RBI and zero walks against three strikeouts over five games for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

Baez was a standout performer for Puerto Rico in the tournament, as in addition to his exploits at the plate, he impressed with a few dazzling plays in the field at second base. He'll move back to his usual spot at shortstop now that he's back at Tigers camp, and the team brass will be hoping that the strong showing on the international stage will help invigorate Baez after he endured a rough first season in Detroit upon signing a six-year, $140 million deal last winter. Despite his excellent showing in the WBC, Baez hasn't carried that form over to the Grapefruit League, where he's slashing .136/.130/.227 with no walks and four strikeouts in eight games.

Crawford (knee) is set to return to Cactus League action this week, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Crawford received a cortisone injection in his troublesome left knee early last week, but he was able to resume baseball activities over the weekend and is aiming to be ready for Opening Day. The veteran shortstop has logged only 13 plate appearances this spring and has recorded just one hit.

Grissom will see action at both shortstop and second base for Triple-A Gwinnett, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Atlanta wants Grissom to keep working on his defense at shortstop but also wants Braden Shewmake to show that his improved hitting in camp wasn't a small-sample fluke, so the solution will be for both to start every day at Gwinnett but rotate where they play out in the field. Orlando Arcia's starting assignment at shortstop in the majors seems fairly tenuous, so if either prospect gets off to a hot start at Triple-A and seems ready to handle a full-time gig in the majors, a quick promotion remains very possible. Grissom did display progress with his glove in camp under the tutelage of Ron Washington and went 13-for-35 (.371) at the plate with a 2:4 BB:K, and he remains the most likely long-term solution for the club at shortstop.

Shewmake will see action at both shortstop and second base for Triple-A Gwinnett, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Atlanta wants Shewmake to keep working on his hitting but also wants Vaughn Grissom to keep working on his defense at shortstop, so the solution will be for both to start every day at Gwinnett but rotate where they play out in the field. Orlando Arcia's starting assignment at shortstop in the majors seems fairly tenuous, so if either prospect gets off to a hot start at Triple-A and seems ready to handle a full-time gig in the majors, a quick promotion remains very possible. Shewmake opened some eyes in spring training by going 10-for-31 (.323) during Grapefruit League play while flashing strong glovework at short, but his career numbers at the plate coming into 2023 suggest his ceiling might be that of a big-league utility player.

Adrianza will begin the season as Atlanta's primary utility infielder.

The decision to send both Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake to Triple-A Gwinnett was in part prompted by the team's desire to have maximum middle infield depth, which means (eventually) adding Adrianza to the 40-man roster and keeping him on the big-league bench rather than letting him go. The 33-year-old switch hitter saw time at second base, third base, shortstop and left field in 2022, but his .470 OPS over 110 plate appearances between Atlanta and the Nationals -- the second time in the last three seasons he's posted a sub-.600 OPS -- doesn't exactly suggest he would have been hard to replace. If Orlando Arcia gets replaced as the starting shortstop by either Shewmake or Grissom, he would presumably take Adrianza's utility role and bump him to the waiver wire.