Pedro Alvarez has homered in 2-straight spring outings. He’s been seeing time in the outfield too, trying to make himself more valuable, and that could mean some extra work for him though Hyun-Soo Kim and Seth Smith are also around to fill the role of left-handed hitting outfielder for the Orioles.
Josh Donaldson (calf) is well on his way to being available on Opening Day for the Jays. He will see his first Grapefruit League action of the year Wednesday. Teammate Devon Travis (knee) should make his debut later this week and he is still hopeful of being ready for Opening Day.
Adonis Garcia is just about ready to return to action after injuring his hamstring. The smallish 31 year old hit 14 homers and drive in 65 runs last season for the Braves and makes a nice target in NL-only leagues do to his often low cost.
Carlos Gomez has been on fire through 12 games with a .333/.382/.733 slash line this spring. He’s hit three doubles, hit three homers, and has driven in nine runs while scoring nine times. Alas, two walks, 12 strikeouts and no steals. Still, the bat is there which is an extremely intriguing development given how he finished the season last year with the Rangers (.284/.362/.543 with eight homers and five steals over just 33 games).
Didi Gregorius has a right shoulder injury and more tests are being run. If he’s unable to go the Yankees could move Starlin Castro to shortstop, or they could use Tyler Wade there as well. Sorry for those of you who want the answer to be Gleyber Torres. It’s not going to be. Torres is just barely 20 years old and doesn’t have one at-bat above High-A ball. He’s simply not ready for the big leagues yet.
Eloy Jimenez is going to be shut down for three weeks with a bone bruise in his right shoulder. We may see him in the bigs late this season, maybe, but I wouldn’t be counting on it.
Matt Kemp is batting .231 with no homers in 39 at-bats this spring. I’m not worried.
Even when it isn’t real it’s still gonna take some hard work.
I am worried about the foot of J.D. Martinez. JDM has had an MRI and he’s also getting a stress CT scan on his foot later this week on Friday. I have no inside information but I’m considerably stressed by this situation. I have to think we’re talking about a potentially extended absence for JDM. He’s been downgraded in the latest Rankings Update as a result.
Yoan Moncada has ripped it up of late. On March 15th he hit two homers. On March 19th he hit another homer and doubled twice. Through 17 games Moncada now has three homers, four doubles, 13 RBI and a 317/.391/.683 slash line. He also has a whopping 14 strikeouts in just 41 at-bats so it’s not all fantastic, but he’s showing right now why so many in the baseball world are so excited/intrigued by his talent. Still, I find it hard to envision a scenario that would have him open the season in the big leagues, but he’s making sure that everyone in Chicago knows that he’s ready when the need arises.
Salvador Perez (elbow) believes he will be able to return to game action Wednesday when he will DH. Also dealing with a minor knee issue, seeing a catcher already somewhat beat up is not a good sign at all for a guy who has struggled to close out seasons in recent years.
Yasiel Puig was scratched Monday with calf tightness. Doesn’t sound like anything serious but it is a reminder though even when Puig is healthy (.927 OPS with three homers this spring) that he can get hurt at any moment.
Addison Russell has five homers this spring. Pretty tough to hit 21 homers with 95 RBI as a 22 year old shortstop and get less heat at the draft. Holes in the game exist, sure, but this is one talented youngster who is already a heck of a run producer.
Corey Seager should work out today and tomorrow before returning to game action. His oblique is apparently close to allowing him to return, but we are getting to the point that if he has a setback he likely wouldn’t be ready for Opening Day.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 7 PM EDT, Wednesday 8 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).