National League notes
ARIZONA: Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo remains a valuable member of a team with playoff aspirations. He is a sure-handed defender. He is a contactoriented hitter who might be as good at recognizing pitches as anyone in baseball. He is actively trying to show he has more in the tank in terms of offensive production than he has shown in his two-plus years in the majors. And he is a team-oriented player whose energy and positivity makes him a well-liked member of the clubhouse. “He genuinely cares about his teammates and pulls for his teammates,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Instead of competing with them, he lets his game do what it’s supposed to do and blocks out the noise.”
ATLANTA: The Braves optioned top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver to Class AAA Gwinnett on March 11, moving closer to settling on their pitching staff for opening day. The move was not surprising, given the 21-year-old right-hander’s inexperience. It clears the way for the Braves to pick between Bryce Elder and Reynaldo López for the fifth spot in the starting rotation. In three starts during the exhibition season, Smith-Shawver showed glimpses of his enormous potential – recording 11 strikeouts in 72⁄3 innings – but also gave up 12 hits, seven earned runs and two homers. “I’m not trying to let people score but thinking about competing and making pitches more than results,” Smith-Shawver said. “You want to make the team and be on the roster, but it’s still early and I need to develop and get better.”
CHICAGO: Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was scratched ahead of a Cactus League start last weekend do to a lingering back injury. His status for opening day is in question, according to manager Craig Counsell. “I don’t think this is a long-term absence for Jamo,” Counsell said, according to MLB.com. “But, I think this is what’s expected. I think we’re in good shape.”
CINCINNATI: The Reds’ quest to win the NL Central for the first time since 2012 took a hit when Noelvi Marte, their starting third baseman, was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for Boldenone, a PED. He also won’t be eligible for the postseason roster. The Reds now will turn to Jeimer Candelario, who signed a three-year, $45 million contract, while Jonathan India, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer can also play games at third.
COLORADO: Second baseman Brendan Rodgers was hitting .348 through nine spring training games. Rodgers, the third overall draft pick in 2015, has dealt with injuries and ups and downs. He won a Gold Glove in 2022 but was limited to 46 games last season. “I think Brendan’s extremely motivated to prove he’s one of the best players in the National League,” manager Bud Black said, according to MLB.com.
LOS ANGELES: The worst-kept secret in the Cactus League was that the Dodgers could no longer trust having Gavin Lux as their everyday shortstop, and just five days before leaving for South Korea, they pulled the plug. They are now moving All-Star Mookie Betts to shortstop despite not having played the position on an everyday basis since he was a senior at Overton High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Lux is moving to second base. It’ll be fascinating to see how long the experiment lasts without the Dodgers going out to find another shortstop. They have expressed strong interest in Willy Adames of the Milwaukee Brewers. ... Freddie Freeman, batting third in the order this season, told Shohei Ohtani that he wants him to steal as many bases as possible and promises not to swing when he runs. “I’ll take every time,” Freeman says. “Every time he goes, I’ll take the pitch.”
MIAMI: With Jorge Soler signing with the Giants, the DH position will likely be a rotation, according to MLB.com. Christina De Nicola writes Josh Bell, Jake Burger, Avisaíl García and Bryan De La Cruz could be part of it. Burger, Luis Arraez and even Dane Myers can cover first base if Bell is the DH, according to De Nicola. Manager Skip Schumatcher is trying out different combinations this spring.
MILWAUKEE: Closer Devin Williams is dealing with a sore back that he is going to seek a second opinion from a spine specialist for. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Williams, the 2023 National League reliever of the year, has been dealing with pain in the lower right region of his back for a few weeks. Williams had imaging done on the injury last week in Arizona. Nothing alarming appeared, Murphy said, but Williams is seeking out a specialist in California. Murphy did not give any indication as to whether Williams’ status for opening day March 28 would be impacted.
NEW YORK: After feeling arm fatigue following two side sessions, an MRI revealed starting pitcher Kodai Senga’s shoulder strain. He received a plateletrich plasma (PRP) injection on Feb. 23, which will keep him from throwing for at least three weeks. He will miss opening
day, with a six-week build-up pushing his return to late April in the best case.
PHILADELPHIA: Zack Wheeler reached 47 pitches in his second spring training start in three no-hitting innings against the Yankees. Manager Rob Thomson hadn’t announced the team’s opening-day starter for March 28 against Atlanta in Philadelphia, but it’s between Wheeler and Aaron Nola, according to MLB.com.
PITTSBURGH: Closer David Bednar was taking time off to deal with some tightness in his right lat. The 29-year-old has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game. The Pirates bolstered the back end of the bullpen after signing Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal in January.
ST. LOUIS: Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, 44, continues to say he wants to manage one day, perhaps joining former teammate and close friend Yadier Molina.
SAN DIEGO: Shortstop Jackson Merrill, the Padres’ No. 2 prospect, has been one of the most impressive players in the Cactus League this spring, scouts say. They believe that he can make the transition to be the Padres’ everyday center fielder. He could become only the third player in the last 50 years to start in center field on opening day before the age of 21, joining Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones. Merrill has never played a game at Class AAA and never a game in center field in his life.
SAN FRANCISCO: Third baseman J.D. Davis was released by the Giants on March 11 after beating the team last
month in salary arbitration and will get just over $1.1 million in termination pay rather than a $6.9 million salary. Davis was awarded the salary by a threeperson panel rather than the team’s $6.55 million offer. Under baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, negotiated contracts for arbitration-eligible players are guaranteed while salaries decided by an arbitration panel are not. That allowed the Giants to release Davis for 30 days’ termination pay, which came to $1,112,903. “We negotiate all of our arbitration cases in good faith and tried to reach an agreement with all of our arbitration-eligible players, him included,” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said in a video call. “Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.” Davis, who turns 31 next month, hit .248 with 18 homers and 69 RBI last year in his first full season with the Giants. Zaidi also said having Wilmer Flores gives the Giants a “similar defensive profile and role to what J.D. might be” weighed into the decision, along with adding DH Jorge Soler.
WASHINGTON: Outfielder Eddie Rosario is at spring training on a minor league contract. The 32-year-old Rosario is a left-handed hitter who has played nine seasons in the majors. He has a lifetime batting average of .268 and an OPS of .755, with 159 homers and 548 RBI. He could bring some much-needed power to the light-hitting lineup.