Austin Riley made his spring debut on Sunday going 0-for-2 at the plate in Atlanta’s 5-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Riley made a couple of nice plays at third base and he is hoping that the adjustments he made this offseason will lead to continued success at the plate. Riley spoke with MLB.com’s Mark Bowman about his offseason and how he is carrying what he learned into the spring with him.
“Past springs, I feel like I’ve come in searching for something and trying to figure out my swing with that slide or something with my elbow,” Riley said. “Now, I can work on my approach and work on seeing that strike or ball. That allows me to make that adjustment quicker to seeing live pitching.”
Whether he wins the third base job or not this spring, Riley figures to get a chance to prove that he can handle the third base job on a regular basis at some point this season.
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Brian Snitker announced that Mike Foltynewicz will make his spring debut on Tuesday against the Twins. Mike Soroka won’t debut until later in the week after he tweaked his groin while throwing live batting practice. Snitker insisted that Soroka’s injury wasn’t anything serious and that the team was just playing it safe.
MLB.com’s Will Leitch and Mike Petriello ranked all 30 Major League clubs in order as World Series Favorites. No surprise but the Yankees and Dodgers top the list and are followed by the Astros, Twins and the Mets. The Braves check in at No. 7 while the Nationals come in at No. 10.
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The San Diego Padres have an agreement with veteran second baseman Brian Dozier on a minor-league deal. He will go to spring training and participate in a competition along with Jurickson Profar, Greg Garcia and Breyvic Valera for San Diego’s second base job.
Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes spoke with the media on Sunday and says that he is hoping to be ready for Opening Day. Cespedes said that if he continues to progress as he has so far this spring then he thinks he can be ready for the start of the season.