WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Houston Astros are planning to play Jose Altuve mostly in left field this season, manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle on Monday.

A nine-time All-Star, three-time batting champion and the 2017 AL MVP, Altuve has played all but two of his 1,767 major league games at second base. He won the Gold Glove in 2015, and in 2020, he led the American League with the fewest errors, with four.

"Right now the plan is for him to play the majority of his games in left field," Espada said, adding that moving Altuve "back and forth is something that I am going to avoid."

The idea of moving Altuve to left was first broached when the team was looking to keep third baseman Alex Bregman, who wound up signing with the Boston Red Sox. If Bregman had returned to Houston, it might have forced newly acquired Isaac Paredes to shift to second base and Altuve to the outfield.

"Whatever I have to do for [Bregman] to stay, I'm willing to do it," Altuve said at the team's FanFest in January.

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil has been diagnosed with a high-grade lat strain in his right shoulder and will be out at least a couple of months.

Manager Aaron Boone did not disclose a specific timeline, but he said before Monday's spring training game against Pittsburgh that Gil won't throw for at least six weeks, after which he would need to fully build back up again.

Gil's injury likely means Marcus Stroman -- who entered camp seemingly as the odd man out in the rotation but also said he had no interest in going to the bullpen -- will open the season as the team's fifth starter. The Yankees also have veteran starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco in camp as a non-roster invitee, in addition to young starters Will Warren and Brent Headrick on their 40-man roster.

"You know these things are going to unfortunately come and pop up," Boone said. "They do at different times of the year. Hopefully, overall, you can stay fairly healthy, but unfortunately these things are inevitable, and that's why ... every team tries to build in some depth. We feel like we're in a good spot with who we have. It's part of it."

Gil, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, experienced shoulder tightness during a bullpen session on Friday and underwent an MRI over the weekend that revealed the strain, though Boone said he still needs to undergo further examination. The hope is that Gil, 26, would return at some point in the first half, but that is unknown at the moment. Fellow starter Clarke Schmidt had a similar lat strain last year and missed about three and a half months, from late May to early September.

For optimism, the Yankees can look to last spring. Their ace, Gerrit Cole, missed the first two and a half months with nerve irritation and edema in his pitching elbow, but the rest of the rotation stepped up in his absence, posting a 3.47 ERA through the end of June and ultimately playing a big part in the Yankees winning the AL East. Now Cole, Stroman, Schmidt, Carlos Rodon and newcomer Max Fried must step up in similar fashion.

"It sucks, man; I don't even know what to say to put it into words," Stroman said after his Grapefruit League start against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, which saw him allow four runs and record eight outs. "He was a huge part of this team last year. Incredible, incredible season, and we're going to need him. We're going to need him at some point in order to go where we want."

Gil spent most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, then won a spot in the rotation the follow spring and put together a sensational 2024, going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 151 innings. Gil walked 12.1% of the hitters he faced, by far the most among those with at least 150 innings, but he also compiled 171 strikeouts.

Most notable, though, was a significant workload bump for a pitcher who hadn't previously reached 110 innings in pro ball and wound up pitching for a team that reached the World Series. Boone said it was "tough to say" whether that innings jump triggered injury.

"It's pitching," Boone added. "Different things crop up. It's why we put so much value in what these guys do in their throwing programs and when they start, and we're methodical in how they go about it. I feel like we've started to turn a corner there, but it's certainly one of the things that is troubling in our game."

The last time we saw Giancarlo Stanton on a baseball field, he was putting together a historic postseason, blasting seven home runs in the New York Yankees' 14 playoff games. Four months later, one of several questions surrounding the defending American League champions this spring: When will we see him in the batter's box again?

On Saturday, the Yankees announced Stanton will begin the season on the injured list with elbow injuries. Stanton was already doubtful for Opening Day when he reported to spring training in Tampa having not swung a bat in weeks because of pain in both of his elbows. A week later, the slugger left camp for New York and hasn't returned.

Manager Aaron Boone said Stanton's reason for leaving the team is "personal in nature" and not related to his elbow issues. Before departing Tampa, Stanton did not engage in baseball activities; he was seen going through conditioning drills with trainers while his teammates completed full-squad workouts.

"He has some downtime right now to get things right," Aaron Judge told reporters last week. "I want a healthy G in the middle of the season."

A year ago, Stanton, coming off a humbling 2023 season, reported to spring training with less muscle after altering his workout plan to stay on the field. He rebounded by hitting 27 home runs with a .773 OPS in 114 games. Most importantly, he continued his playoff prowess, fueling the Yankees' offense in October along with Juan Soto.

This year, Stanton is a variable in the Yankees' calculations for offsetting Soto's departure. With Opening Day late this month, he won't be a factor to begin the season. Ultimately, his presence is more important to the Yankees in October than in April. But it's an ominous start.

Here are five more questions from Yankees camp:

Who's on third?

The Yankees upgraded their roster in several ways after Soto chose to sign with the Mets, bolstering strengths and filling glaring holes throughout the roster. Acquiring a third baseman, however, was a priority left unchecked.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr. shifting to second base to replace departed free agent Gleyber Torres, the Yankees' top options at third base are DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas. Entering camp, a platoon between LeMahieu and Cabrera was the likely solution. But that was before LeMahieu, coming off a nightmare 2024 campaign, tweaked his calf in his Grapefruit League debut Saturday.

LeMahieu, who took two at-bats before leaving the game, will be shut down from baseball activities for an unknown period. Chances are he won't be ready for the start of the season. This past year, the 2020 American League batting champion was one of the least productive players in the majors, recording -1.6 bWAR in just 67 games before finishing the season on the IL. He has two years and $30 million remaining on his six-year, $90 million contract.

If LeMahieu misses time, the platoon likely becomes one between Cabrera and Peraza. Cabrera, a switch-hitter, would start against right-handed pitchers, with Peraza getting starts against lefties.

Cabrera, who turned 26 on Saturday, posted a 1.3 bWAR season in 2024, slashing .247/.296/.365 with eight home runs in 108 games. He played every position but catcher and center field. Peraza, meanwhile, is a former top prospect still looking to find his footing at the highest level a year after a shoulder injury sidelined him for most of spring training. The 24-year-old Venezuelan has a .216/.297/.315 slash line in 74 career games.

But acquiring a third baseman remains a possibility between now and the July trade deadline. This past season, the Yankees traded for Jon Berti the day before Opening Day.

Which leads to Nolan Arenado. The St. Louis Cardinals, in the nascent stages of a rebuild, have made the eight-time All-Star available very publicly for months, but the Yankees have not been aggressive pursuers. Arenado, who turns 34 in April and is coming off his worst major league season, is owed $74 million through 2027, with the Colorado Rockies on the hook to pay $5 million in each of the next two years.

The Cardinals would certainly need to eat some of the money to facilitate a trade. It's likely to happen at some point in 2025 -- they agreed to a deal with the Houston Astros in December, only for Arenado, who has a full no-trade clause, to block the trade. Maybe it'll be with the Yankees, who signed Arenado's good friend and former Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in December. But the Yankees are rolling with what they have for now.

Who's leading off?

It took the Yankees until the middle of August this past season to find stability in the leadoff spot in front of Soto and Aaron Judge. The player who provided that stability, Torres, isn't on the roster anymore, leaving the role vacant once again.

There are three obvious options: Chisholm, Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez. If handedness is a significant factor -- and Boone has said he prefers to split lefties and righties -- then the left-handed-hitting Chisholm and switch-hitting Dominguez might have an edge on Volpe, after Boone revealed Judge, a right-handed hitter, will move back to second in the batting order this season.

Chisholm boasts great speed, considerable pop and experience in the role, but his .311 career on-base percentage is low for a leadoff man. Dominguez possesses elite power-speed potential, but he's a rookie with just 100 major league plate appearances under his belt.

Volpe was the team's leadoff hitter from early April to the start of July but was moved down after he struggled mightily in the role. Now in his third season, the Yankees are hopeful the shortstop found his stroke in October -- he batted .286 with an .815 OPS in the postseason -- and will carry that success into a breakout 2025 season. If he does, he could be the answer.

"I just want to take care of the strike zone a lot more," said Volpe, a Gold Glove winner in 2023 who slashed .243/.293/.364 in 160 games this past season. "When I do that, I feel like I can impact the ball a lot better and just take my natural, normal swing, which I feel like plays.

"But when I get too big or too outside the strike zone, no one hits those pitches. So I think just going through two full seasons, seeing all the pitchers, how they want to attack me, you build a pretty good database and I think being able to tap back on those things and use the things I've learned and things I'm working on, I'm really excited."

Can Jasson Dominguez handle left field?

There is no questioning Dominguez's talent. One of the most hyped prospects in recent memory, Dominguez's combination of power and speed shined in the minors once he signed with the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic in July of 2019. This offseason, after two brief September stints in the majors the past two seasons, the Yankees deemed Dominguez ready to be their every-day left fielder. But his defense is a concern.

The Yankees called up Dominguez last September to compete with Alex Verdugo for playing time in left. Verdugo was one of the least productive every-day players in baseball in 2024. But Dominguez's shoddy defense prompted the Yankees to stick with Verdugo in the postseason because Verdugo was at least reliable with the glove.

Fast forward to March and Verdugo remains a free agent while Dominguez takes a crash course in learning the position. The top prospect arrived in Tampa early to work on his defense in left after starting 237 minor league games in center field and just 58 in left. Grapefruit League games have provided more teaching moments.

Dominguez lost a ball in the sun in his second exhibition game of the spring. In his fourth, he misjudged a hard-hit ball at the wall. The play was not routine. But every chance Dominguez has will be scrutinized until he proves he isn't a liability. The Yankees believe he has the athleticism and work ethic to make it work, and they're going to give him the opportunity.

"There's no reason he shouldn't be able to handle left field," Boone told reporters. "And we do like what we've seen these first couple of weeks."

What's going to happen with Marcus Stroman?

For a few weeks, Stroman's insistence on remaining a starting pitcher -- and not pitching out of the bullpen -- made for some awkwardness. Stroman is a prideful veteran, a two-time All-Star with a 3.72 career ERA over 10 seasons who has proven doubters wrong with his 5-foot-7 frame. And if he needed any extra motivation, he must log 140 innings this season to activate an $18 million player option for 2026.

The Yankees, though, had five other pitchers projected to populate their starting rotation ahead of him.

Those quandaries tend to sort themselves out over the course of spring training's six weeks, and this one might have over the weekend. Luis Gil, one of those five projected starters, had his bullpen session cut short Friday after feeling tightness in his right shoulder and was sent for an MRI on Saturday. On Monday, Boone announced that Gil suffered a high-grade lat strain and will be shut down for at least six weeks, a deflating development for the talented right-hander that opens a door for Stroman.

A year ago, Gil was on the other end of an injury development when Gerrit Cole, coming off a Cy Young season, was shut down with an elbow injury in mid-March. That paved the way for Gil to break camp on the Opening Day roster, capitalize on the opportunity and win the Rookie of the Year Award.

This time, Stroman would be the next in line to claim an empty rotation spot -- if the Yankees choose to keep him. The Yankees had been looking to trade Stroman -- and his $18.5 million salary -- going back to the offseason.

Now, it looks like he'll remain in pinstripes and get his chance to start -- at least to begin the season.

Who's the backup catcher?

Buried in the Yankees' transaction frenzy in December were two moves that dented the organization's catching depth.

First, on Dec. 11, the Yankees traded catcher Carlos Narvaez, who made his major league debut in July, to the Boston Red Sox for a minor league pitcher and international bonus pool money. Nine days later, they traded catcher Jose Trevino, an All-Star in 2022 who lost his starting job to Austin Wells this past summer, to the Cincinnati Reds for reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson. Trevino was the sixth catcher the Yankees have traded since the end of the 2023 season. The moves have left New York without a clear backup to Wells.

The group of candidates includes Jackson, a former first-round pick and plus defender -- who was also one of the least productive hitters in the majors this past season. There's Ben Rice, who logged just one inning at catcher in the majors as a rookie this past season. And there's J.C. Escarra, a 29-year-old journeyman still looking to make his MLB debut. Prospect Rafael Flores has turned heads in camp after posting an .875 OPS with 21 home runs between High-A and Double-A this past season, but he'll go back to the minors for more seasoning.

The Yankees are high on Rice's potential. They value his power, plate discipline and makeup. Those attributes and his positional versatility -- Rice, who said he gained 10 pounds of muscle over the offseason, started 41 games at first base in 2024 -- could give him the edge if the Yankees determine he is ready to regularly catch at the highest level. Rice could also see time at designated hitter during Stanton's absence. If it's not Rice, Escarra, a former Uber driver and high school substitute teacher who spent two years playing independent ball before standing out in Double-A and Triple-A this past season, could make his breakthrough.

Tuaina Taii Tualima, a flanker with Australian Super League side ACT Brumbies, has been diagnosed with dengue fever.

The 27-year-old caught the mosquito-borne disease during a team trip to Fiji in February, when he made his debut for the club against Fijian Drua.

However, Tualima was unable to participate in the second game of the tour after falling ill.

"The affected player has been diagnosed early and is receiving medical input from the team doctor and an infectious disease specialist," a statement from the Brumbies said.

Dengue fever is transmitted by infected mosquitos.

The Fijian government announced an outbreak of the disease in early February, when more than 200 cases had been recorded.

Though most people recover from dengue fever within seven to 14 days, it can on rare occasions be deadly.

The club have not announced an expected return date for Tualima.

Formerly of Queensland Reds, Tualima joined ACT Brumbies from Melbourne Rebels in 2024.

PHOENIX -- A brutal season for the Phoenix Suns hit a low Sunday night with a humiliating 116-98 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"We didn't play up to our standards at all," All-Star forward Kevin Durant said. "We embarrassed the fans and we embarrassed ourselves the way we played. I want us to be better."

Phoenix lost for the 11th time in 14 games and fell to 28-33 for the season. The team is four games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament and will need a minor miracle over the final 21 games of the season just to have a chance at the postseason.

It's far from the situation that the Suns expected back in October. They started the season with championship aspirations with a highly-paid and accomplished roster that includes Durant, four-time All-Star Devin Booker and three-time All-Star Bradley Beal.

But after an encouraging 8-1 start to the season, the Suns have a 20-31 record since Nov. 13. Injuries haven't helped, but the Suns were at full strength Sunday night and still were routed in their own building.

"We've got to go on a run, but it's got to start," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "There's no doubt that the standings, the circumstances that we're in, there's an awareness and we've got to do something to change it."

Phoenix actually led 51-49 at halftime Sunday, but Minnesota rallied for an 83-72 lead heading into the fourth.

That's when things really went south for the Suns, who didn't appear to be giving much effort in the final minutes. They had nine turnovers in the fourth quarter, including several that led directly to easy Minnesota baskets. Beal was called for a flagrant foul 1 when he pushed Anthony Edwards on a dunk attempt.

Scattered boos were heard from the home crowd in the final minutes.

The Timberwolves -- led by Edwards' 44 points -- were the far superior team. Julius Randle returned after sitting out more than a month because of a groin injury and had 20 points. Donte DiVincenzo torched the Suns for eight 3-pointers and the Phoenix defense appeared to have little interest in guarding him at times.

Minnesota was the team that swept Phoenix out of the playoffs last season in the first round. The Timberwolves have won all three regular-season meetings this season.

"When adversity hits, we start floating a little as a team," Durant said. "That's tough to deal with it."

Phoenix tied a season high with 22 turnovers and gave up a season-high 40 points off those turnovers. Durant, Booker and Beal combined for 14 of the turnovers.

"That's why we lost," Durant said. "Forty points off turnovers, tough to overcome that. They didn't overpower us on the glass, we just gave them the ball."

Luis Suárez scored a goal and assisted on three others to lead Inter Miami to a dominant 4-1 victory over the host Houston Dynamo on Sunday night.

Inter Miami (1-0-1, 4 points) picked up its first victory of the MLS season despite the absence of superstar Lionel Messi, who remained in South Florida as the team chose to give the 37-year-old some extra rest.

"With respect to Leo, obviously we talked about it and I always say the same thing, there is no one, I don't know any player in the world that knows their body as Leo knows it," Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of his decision for Messi not to travel. "And well after three games in six days ... we thought that the best thing was to be able to rest especially on a trip that was a trip to the other coast of two-and-a-half, three hours."

Inter Miami picked up its third victory overall across all competitions and next will play in the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Houston (0-2-0, 0 points) has opened the season with consecutive home losses.

Telasco Segovia had two goals and an assist for Inter Miami, and Tadeo Allende scored his first MLS regular season goal of the season.

Suárez's precise passes led to Miami's first three scores. He then delivered a fourth himself in the 79th minute by slicing through Houston's defense on a stellar individual effort.

"Everything he has done in football, he's one of the best five forward centers in the world in the last 10 years," Mascherano said of Suárez after the match. "He's played in great teams, he's had a very big influence on everyone. Not only in Barcelona, but also in Liverpool, Atlético Madrid.

"Obviously, for me it's a privilege as a coach to train this type of player."

Segovia scored in the sixth minute and in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.

The first came as a result of a giveaway by Houston in its own 18-yard box when Obafemi Awodesu had a pass deflected by Benjamin Cremaschi. The ball trickled to Suárez, who delivered a quick cross to Segovia, allowing him to fire a quick shot past Houston keeper Andrew Tarbell.

Allende scored Miami's second goal when he took a ball perfectly looped to him in stride by Suárez and, while on a full sprint, fired a high crossing shot from distance with his left foot past Tarbell.

Inter Miami's Yannick Bright, who returned from a thigh injury, stole the ball just past midfield and began the sequence that led to Suárez's cross to Segovia for his second goal and Miami's third.

Nicolas Lodeiro scored the Dynamo's lone goal in the 85th minute on a shot that bounced off Inter Miami's Oscar Ustari and into the back of the net.

Houston's Ezequiel Ponce appeared to score in the 61st minute when he headed in a free kick by Jack McGlynn, but he was ruled offside.

After the game Inter Miami defender Ian Fray got into a verbal exchange with a couple of Houston players and was issued a red card.