Category: Baseball

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has been using a walking boot as he nurses a sore right heel that will keep him out at least a week. San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said Belt will be re-evaluated in five to seven days but it's too soon to know whether the injury could affect his status for the season opener July 23 at Dodger Stadium. The 32-year-old Belt has dealt with heel pain previously and aggravated it this time doing agility work in a ladder drill.

Max Muncy's absence from Dodgers training camp was disclosed during a conference call Wednesday, but talk was also about the batter's eye at the stadium.

As Major League Baseball cautiously tiptoes closer toward beginning its delayed 2020 season, several teams welcomed back players who might have been exposed to the coronavirus, and the San Francisco Giants resumed workouts Wednesday after finally receiving the results of COVID-19 tests administered over the weekend. The San Diego Padres, however, revealed that newly acquired infielder Jorge Mateo's intake test for coronavirus came back positive and he's experienced symptoms. Mateo was obtained last week from Oakland for a player to be named or cash in the first trade since the transaction freeze was lifted.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were eager to show off $100 million worth of stadium renovations to fans and a national audience at the All-Star Game this summer. The Dodgers won't host the All-Star festivities until 2022. The black tarp that served as the backdrop in center field is gone, replaced by a new center field plaza that may take some getting used to for hitters.

On the first day of intrasquad games the Giants were without two key players, and another was slightly limited.

Pat Boyle, David Haugh and Mark Carman join Kap on a Wednesday edition of STL.

As other teams already are dealing with risky behavior of players during MLB's startup, the Cubs are taking the risk "very seriously" because they know it only takes one knucklehead to derail everybody else's best efforts, left fielder Kyle Schwarber said.

Angels players, coaches, front-office executives and support staff agreed during a Zoom call to practice safety during training camp and the 60-game season.

Mark Canha came to Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday and found a new face mask in his locker. Most everyone was given one, but it certainly wasn't a standard issue. Not with its design.Someone made masks that looked like Mike Fiers' face when he had rocked that swirling facial hair design on Sept. 14, 2019 against the Texas Rangers.Canha suspects Fiers himself.