MLB Player News

Royals manager Mike Matheny said Monday that O'Hearn (illness) is "really close" to returning from the COVID-19 injured list, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

O'Hearn was cleared to return to the Royals' satellite camp last week to resume baseball activities, so he's presumably just attempting to make up for the training time he lost after testing positive for the coronavirus earlier this month. Once activated, O'Hearn is expected to slot in as the Royals' primary first baseman, likely occupying the strong side of a platoon with Ryan McBroom.

Santana went 0-for-2 with two runs and two walks in Sunday's win against the Royals.

Although Santana hasn't recorded a hit over eight at-bats to begin the season, he's drawn four walks and scored twice in Sunday's 9-2 win. The 34-year-old had a career-best .281 batting average, 34 home runs and 93 RBI last season and has a .333 OBP to begin the 2020 campaign.

Cron went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Sunday's win over the Reds.

Cron picked a good time for his second home run of the young season -- he went deep against Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen in the ninth inning, turning a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead for the Tigers. The 30-year-old looks comfortable in the middle of Detroit's lineup and could post a good number of home runs and RBI the rest of the way.

Voit went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Nationals.

Voit came through with a home run in the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2. It was his first long ball as well as his first hit for the campaign. While a small sample, Voit has struck out in five of his first 11 plate appearances and will need to improve his contact rate to be relied upon as a producer this season.

Diaz went 1-for-2 with two walks in a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday.

The slugger was able to get his first hit of the season after going 0-for-4 in Friday's opener, and he drew another pair of free passes after notching one walk in the first game of the season. Diaz has displayed a good eye at the plate with double-digit walk rates in two of his first three big-league seasons, and if his injury-shortened 2019 campaign is any indication, he's ready to complement that patience with robust power numbers; Diaz slugged 35 extra-base hits (20 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs) over 79 games last season before belting two homers in the AL Wild Card Game. Additionally, Juan Toribio of MLB.com previously reported that the 28-year-old was one of the most impressive all-around players in summer camp, leading manager Kevin Cash to remark that Diaz "just gets out of bed and hits."

Abreu went 2-for-5 with a run scored in Saturday's 10-3 win over the Twins.

Abreu has been the primary source of run production in Chicago's offense, but the lineup is more stacked in 2020. Of the 15 runs scored in the first two games, only one has been driven in by Abreu. He's 2-for-9 (two singles) with a run and an RBI over the first two games.

Gurriel went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk and was also hit by a pitch in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Mariners.

Gurriel's solo shot off Mariners starter Taijuan Walker started a four-run rally in the fourth inning. The first baseman has maintained a batting average of at least .290 in each of the last three years.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a walk during Friday's win against the Angels.

Olson wasted no time turning the first pitch he saw from Hoby Milner into a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning. He marks the first player to hit a walk-off grand slam on Opening Day since Jim Presley in 1986 with the Mariners. Olson is coming off a successful 2019 campaign, during which he batted .267 with 36 home runs and 91 RBI.

Cron went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in the Tigers' 7-1 loss to the Reds on Opening Day.

His homer traveled 447 feet and Statcast had it at 112 mph off the bat. As Andrew Simon of MLB.com notes, the Tigers had one home run over 111 mph all of last year. It seems safe to say Cron isn't budging from that cleanup spot.

Dalbec will practice at Boston's alternate camp, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Dalbec had an outside shot of making the 30-man roster, but the Red Sox opted to keep Rule 5 pick Jonathan Arauz.