MLB Player News

Wisdom was scratched from the Cubs' Cactus League lineup Thursday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

There's no word yet on why Wisdom was removed from the lineup, but the Cubs should offer an explanation soon. Matt Mervis will move from the designated hitter spot to take Wisdom's place at first base, while Pablo Aliendo will enter the lineup at DH.

Suarez was scratched from Arizona's lineup for Thursday's Cactus League game against the Giants due to left side tightness, Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com reports.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Suarez is day-to-day, so it doesn't seem Suarez's injury is too severe, but it will keep him out of game action nonetheless. Blaze Alexander will fill in as Arizona's third baseman Thursday while Suarez recovers.

Mikolas is retooling his slider for 2024 after a disappointing 2023 season during which he had a 4.78 ERA over 201.1 innings, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Mikolas' poor whiff rate (16.7 percent) contributed to his problems in 2023. "I'm working on some different breaking balls and working with some other stuff and so far, so good," said Mikolas. "Maybe not so much [changing] the shape as I am mixing things up more. The mix I had last year wasn't overly successful, so maybe it bodes better if I am mixing things up better." As part of his changes, Mikolas also wants to throw fewer strikes -- batters hit .225 off of him after taking two strikes in 2023. Mikolas has a lot to prove as the longest-tenured member of the Cardinals' rotation following Adam Wainwright's retirement, but it's unclear if his offseason changes will help the 35-year-old get his ERA back under 4.00.

Villar will play in his fifth Cactus League game of the spring Thursday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Villar is getting plenty of playing time so far, and he's gone 2-for-7 with a pair of doubles and a run scored over his first four spring games. The 27-year-old is projected for a utility role if he makes the major-league roster out of camp. That said, he has no clear path to playing time with more established options at both corner infield spots and second base, his three most likely positions. Villar also bats right-handed, as are all but two (LaMonte Wade and Brett Wisely) of the Giants' infield options, so there's not much chance of Villar earning a favorable platoon situation.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Davis is in concussion protocol after being hit on the helmet by a pitch Tuesday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Counsell indicated that Davis has a "mild" concussion, and the outfielder will be shut down from activities until he clears the protocol. The 24-year-old former top prospect has had terrible injury luck during his professional career.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton indicated Thursday that Grandal resides at the top of the catching depth chart but will need to have his workload limited, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

While it sounds like Shelton technically views Grandal as the starting catcher, he noted that Grandal is 35 years old and catching 100 games this season is "not going to happen." Shelton also indicated that the No. 2 catcher role is undecided, but whoever wins the job is "going to be in tandem a little bit" with the veteran. Grandal finished with just a .234/.309/.339 slash line over 405 plate appearances with the White Sox last season and doesn't make for a very appealing fantasy option.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton indicated Thursday that Davis is behind Yasmani Grandal on the catcher depth chart, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Shelton was asked if Grandal is the starting catcher, and while he didn't outright confirm that to be the case, he noted that Grandal "is going to catch" but will require many days off because of his age, "so whoever our C2 is is going to get some time." Davis is working at catcher this spring after almost exclusively playing right field with the Pirates last season. While the 2021 first overall pick could still see ample playing time as the second catcher and perhaps as an occasional designated hitter and/or outfielder, he's looking up at Grandal on the depth chart for now. It also sounds like Davis isn't necessarily a lock to open the year in the majors if the team determines he has some work to do behind the plate. If that happens, Jason Delay or Ali Sanchez would open as Grandal's backup.

Cabrera gave up two hits and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.

The 25-year-old righty posted a 15.2 percent walk rate over 99.2 innings last season and has fought his control throughout his career, but Cabrera looked sharp in this one and tossed 21 of 31 pitches for strikes against a Houston lineup headlined by Chas McCormick and Yainer Diaz. Cabrera isn't quite a lock to break camp in the Miami rotation, but considering he's out of minor-league options it would likely take a complete meltdown this spring to cost him a spot.

Giles struck out the side in a perfect third inning during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

The veteran righty wasn't facing minor-league scrubs either -- Giles fired nine of 15 pitches for strikes while fanning Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm. Giles is in camp as an NRI and has thrown only eight total MLB innings across the last three seasons, so he's a long shot to win a spot on the 26-man roster, but at one time he was an elite high-leverage reliever before a series of arm issues derailed his career. If Giles has regained something close to his old form, he could still have something to offer a big-league bullpen.

Giants manager Bob Melvin said Thursday that Hjelle is a candidate to move into the rotation with Tristan Beck (arm) sidelined, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' starting pitching depth already seemed shaky and is now further thinned out with Beck out indefinitely due to an aneurysm in his upper arm. Melvin would prefer to keep Hjelle in long relief but now has no choice to consider him as a rotation option. The Giants also figure to look for help outside the organization. All 23 of Hjelle's major-league appearances have come in relief, but they've often covered multiple innings, and he was a starter almost exclusively in the minors.