MLB

“He’s not gonna miss much [time], if at all,” Counsell told reporters Monday at Cubs spring training in Arizona. “That’s what I’d say. I’m confident in that.” The 27-year-old speedster underwent flexor tendon surgery last October after struggling to a .273/.335/.373 triple-slash line with seven homers and 31 steals over 151 games. It’s possible he’ll be limited at the outset of Cactus League exhibition contests this month, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to wind up missing too much time, if at all, once the regular season rolls around. Hoerner is currently being selected as the 14th second baseman off the board (200th overall), on average, in NFBC drafts over the past month.

Rosenthal and Mooney add that the Cubs remain active in the ongoing Bregman sweepstakes and will pivot to Turner if he winds up signing with another team. The 40-year-old elder statesman makes a ton of sense for a contender in a limited role and would provide Chicago with a decent platoon partner for left-handed first baseman Michael Busch. With top prospect Matt Shaw seemingly ticketed for third base, it’s a bit surprising to see the Cubs still in the mix for Bregman.

Whatley heads to Toronto as extra organizational catching depth for Triple-A Buffalo after spending the previous four years in the Rangers’ system. The 29-year-old backstop was a third-round selection in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Oral Roberts University and hasn’t ascended to the majors. He compiled a lackluster .199/.295/.319 triple-slash line with five homers and four steals in 164 plate appearances last year for Triple-A Round Rock.

It’s not an official return timetable, but there should be some clarity from the Braves in the coming days. Bowman adds that Strider has been throwing bullpen sessions and might be allowed to make at least one Grapefruit League appearance during spring training, which puts him on track to return to Atlanta’s starting rotation by late April, barring any setbacks. The 26-year-old strikeout machine will require at least a few extra weeks to continue building up his stamina and pitch count before making his season debut, but it sounds like he isn’t facing a lengthy absence at the outset of the year, which is extremely encouraging from a fantasy standpoint. He’s currently being selected 139th overall, on average, in NFBC drafts and fantasy managers should expect that to rise in the coming weeks.

Counsell added that Assad will undergo additional imaging, including an MRI, which isn’t an encouraging development. The positive news here is that he still has plenty of time to recover and ramp-up his throwing program in advance of Opening Day. The 27-year-old righty, who posted a respectable 3.73 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 124/63 K/BB ratio across 147 innings (29 starts) last year, enters spring training in competition for the final spot in Chicago’s season-opening rotation. His absence could open the door for Colin Rea, Ben Brown or Jordan Wicks to break camp in the majors. There should be additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

Zaidi returns to Los Angeles where he previously served as the club’s general manager under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman from 2015-2018 before departing to take over San Francisco’s front office. It’s unclear how much input he’ll have on baseball decisions, but he’ll presumably have a role assisting general manager Brandon Gomes.

DiComo mentions that the Mets are likely to start Jeff McNeil at second base after the additions they made to the outfield this offseason. That means the Mets would not have regular at-bats for Luisangel Acuña, so the team could decide to give him regular playing time at Triple-A to start the season and allow Nick Madrigal to be the backup infielder coming out of camp.

Junk spent last season on three teams: the Brewers, Astros, and Athletics, posting a 14.63 ERA and 3.25 WHIP in eight MLB innings. However, he did register a 3.58 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 54/21 K/BB ratio in 60 1/3 innings in 24 appearances (nine starts) in Triple-A. He’ll get a chance to break camp as part of the Marlins’ bullpen.

This simply comes down to the fact that Williams has no options remaining and would need to be subject to waivers if the Braves don’t want to carry him on the roster. While they might decided to take that risk, Williams can play almost every position on the field, which makes him an incredibly valuable bench option to have. That could mean bad news for the hopes of guys like Christian Cairo, Eddy Alvarez, and Nacho Alvarez Jr. to make the team out of camp.

In his season prediction article, Merkin mentioned that it’s possible Meidroth could force his way into the starting lineup at either second base or third base, pushing Josh Rojas to the other spot and forcing either Miguel Vargas or Bryan Ramon into the designated hitter role. However, Merkin also suggests that, if Meidroth can’t force his way into the lineup, he could be “considered someone who could play three or four times per week.” given that the 23-year-old posted a .437 on-base percentage, .293 average, and .837 OPS over 93 games at Triple-A last year, he could be a sneaky late pick in deeper formats if he were to earn a full-time job.