Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias said earlier this month that infielder Jorge Mateo would get a good bit of time in center field this spring, and manager Brandon Hyde noted on Monday that Mateo also worked at second base over the winter. "We're going to keep our options open with him. He really increases the versatility we have on this club," Hyde said. The Orioles are planning for the eventual debut of top prospect Jackson Holliday, who actually has a chance to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training. The 28-year-old Mateo has seen most of his playing time at shortstop in his time with the O's, but he may need to find his footing elsewhere on the diamond to stay in their lineup. Mateo's bat doesn't do fantasy managers any favors, but he's useful for his speed (67 steals in the last two years) in deeper fantasy leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan (elbow) will have his throwing monitored at camp and is likely to stick at second base for now. It makes sense considering Donovan had surgery to fix his right flexor tendon last August. The Cardinals appear to be easing the 27-year-old back into action at spring training, but the expectation is that he'll be ready to go for Opening Day. The left-handed-hitting utility man from Germany hit more balls in the air to his pull side in his second big-league season in 2023 and finished with a .284 average (93-for-327) with a career-high 11 home runs, 34 RBI, five stolen bases and 48 runs cored in 95 games played. He's a sneaky middle-infield option for fantasy managers in 2024 with great contact skills and positional versatility.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson (ankle) is limited with his running in spring training. It doesn't come as a big surprise, even though he was cleared to do running in December, as Carlson had left-ankle surgery in September. The Cardinals play to ease the 25-year-old switch hitter in at camp, although he's expected to be ready by Opening Day. Carlson's fantasy stock is down considerably after a tough 2023 season that saw him hit only .219/.318/.333 with five home runs, eight doubles, a triple, 27 RBI, three stolen bases and 27 runs scored in 76 games played. The former top prospect figures to bounce back in 2024 with better healthy, but he'll have to earn regular playing time in St. Louis' outfield. Because he's currently projected as the club's fourth outfielder, Carlson is outside of RotoBaller's top-100 outfield ranks.

St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Tommy Edman (illness) missed the first full-team workout in spring training on Monday due to a stomach bug, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Edman's health may not have mattered, as the Cardinals are expected to ease him in at camp this year after he had offseason surgery on his wrist. The 28-year-old probably won't play in Grapefruit Games right away as a result, but he's still expected to be ready by Opening Day. His wrist injury aside in 2023, Edman was one of the bright spots in a disappointing 2023 campaign for the Cardinals. He hit .248/.307/.399 with 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 27 stolen bases and 69 runs scored in 479 at-bats. The switch-hitter is a useful utility player for fantasy managers, mainly for his speed (89 stolen bases in the last three years).

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (back) was scheduled to take live batting practice at spring training on Monday. Arenado appears to be fully healthy at camp after ending the 2023 campaign on the injured list due to lower back spasms. The 32-year-old eight-time All-Star took pilates in the offseason and lost some weight after ending last season with an injury. His third year in St. Louis was a slight disappointment offensively, as he hit .266/.315/.459 with 26 home runs, 26 doubles, two triples, 93 RBI, three steals and 71 runs scored in 144 games played. Arenado remains a top-10 fantasy third baseman, but it's a bit concerning that he saw drops in average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit percentage in 2023. Fantasy managers expecting him to return to the glory days are probably expecting too much.