Mariners' Ty France: On base thrice in win

Dozier will be the primary third baseman for Kansas City to open the 2023 season according to Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "We want [Dozier] to get at-bats," Picollo said. "That's the best place for him to play." The Royals want Bobby Witt to settle in at shortstop, and while Dozier has played in the outfield as well, Kansas City wants the 31-year-old to man the hot corner to begin the 2023 season. He will have to hit better in order to justify staying in the lineup, however, as he hasn't posted an OPS above .750 since his breakout 2019 season.

Plummer joined the Reds on a minor-league deal Friday. Plummer made his big-league debut last season with the Mets but didn't make much of an impression. He struck out 12 times while grabbing just four hits in 31 plate appearances, though two of those hits were home runs. He'll be fighting for a bench outfield spot in camp.

Hall will enter spring training as a starting pitcher, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. All but one of Hall's 11 appearances late last season came in relief, but he'll head into spring training as one of 12 competitors for five spots in Baltimore's rotation. The dynamic lefty might ultimately wind up in the bullpen over the long haul if he can't improve his control and command, but there's no reason to pull the plug on him as a starter yet. O's general manager Mike Elias wasn't ready to say Friday whether Hall might move to the bullpen if he doesn't win a rotation spot, or if he'd head to Triple-A Norfolk.

Rosario will be sidelined multiple months after suffering a fractured ankle while doing sprinting drills during winter ball, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Rosario needed surgery to repair the fracture and is expected to be on the shelf until around midseason. Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the...

Misiewicz was designated for assignment by the Royals on Friday. The club needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for the re-signing of Zack Greinke. Misiewicz pitched pretty well for Kansas City down the stretch last season after being acquired via trade from the Mariners, posting a 4.11 ERA and 19:4 K:BB over 15.1 innings. It's the second time since July that the left-hander has been designated for assignment.

Seattle signed Clarkin to a minor-league contract back on Jan. 30. He was assigned to Double-A Arkansas after joining the organization. Clarkin was a first-round pick by the the Yankees in 2013, but he's struggled to stay healthy and didn't pitch at all last season after posting a 7.86 ERA in 2021 at the Double-A and Triple-A levels while he was a member of the Colorado organization. At this stage of his career, Clarkin is nothing more than roster fodder.

Leiter signed a minor-league contract Thursday with the Cubs that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports. Leiter was pushed off the Cubs' 40-man roster last month, but he's back now with a chance to impress on the MLB side of spring camp. The 31-year-old right-hander worked to a respectable 3.99 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 73:25 K:BB ratio over 67.2 innings with Chicago during the 2022 regular season.

Rendon (wrist) is feeling "fantastic" physically, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports. The Angels are hoping to get a little more out of their $245 million investment in Rendon next season following back-to-back injury-plagued years. It was wrist surgery that limited him to just 47 games in 2022, although he did make it back for a couple games in October. He'll turn 33 in June and hasn't had a full, healthy season since 2019 (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). Fantasy managers in early drafts have been taking an understandably cautious approach, as Rendon has been going outside the top-200 picks.

German was traded to the White Sox from the Red Sox on Friday in exchange for Theo Denlinger. After being designated for assignment Monday to make room on Boston's roster for Richard Bleier, German will now attempt to carve out a role for himself in Chicago's bullpen. The 25-year-old righty cracked the majors for the first time last season, though he allowed eight earned runs over just four innings of work. German will more than likely begin the season in Triple-A again, where he put up a 2.58 ERA and 0.94 WHIP through 38.1 frames in 2022.

No team has had a bigger, more high-profile offseason than the New York Mets. They've handed out close to $500 million in free agent contracts and it would have been more -- a lot more -- had they gone through with their deal with Carlos Correa: a 12-year, $315 million contract that was fell apart over concerns about his surgically repaired ankle.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) (AP) - Jr. Clay's 23 points helped Tennessee State defeat Southern Indiana 80-76 on Thursday night. Clay added 10 rebounds and six assists for the Tigers (13-11, 5-6 Ohio Valley Conference). Dedric Boyd scored 19 points, going 7 of 10 (5 for 6 from distance). Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. recorded 17 points and shot 5 for 13 (4 for 6 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line.

In the month's leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, the idea is to address all of the potential scenarios fans may witness on draft night. In last week's thought exercise, the Carolina Panthers traded up twice to provide a soft landing spot for Chicago in a trade back from No. 1 overall. In today's thought exercise, the Bears embrace the idea of trading back twice to pick up significant draft capital to rebuild the roster.

Sean Payton is now officially the head coach for the Denver Broncos. On Friday, Payton signed a five-year contract with the team, which keeps him in Denver through the 2027 season, according to ESPN. Denver sent its first-round pick from San Francisco (No. 30 overall) and a 2024 second-round pick...