MLB Player News
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Yandy Diaz DH | TB
Indians' Yandy Diaz: Sent down Friday
Diaz was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Friday, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.
Diaz leveraged an outstanding spring performance to land an Opening Day roster spot, but with Jason Kipnis returning from the disabled list, there was simply no room at the inn for Diaz to remain in Cleveland. The 25-year-old will head back to Columbus, where he batted .325 with 22 doubles last season.
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Carlos Santana 1B | ATL
Indians' Carlos Santana: Drives in two runs against Twins
Santana went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run during Thursday's win over Minnesota.
While it's been a mediocre start for Santana (.254/.315/.433 slash line), he's gone 9-for-24 with three runs, two doubles, a home run and seven RBI over his past five games. Additionally, leading off hasn't hurt his RBI opportunities and improves his upside to score runs. It's also a boon in daily contests. With a career .364 on-base percentage entering Thursday, Santana has more value in leagues that count OBP.
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Yuli Gurriel DH | SD
Astros' Yulieski Gurriel: Out of Thursday's lineup
Gurriel is out of Thursday's lineup against the Angels.
He is hitting .279, but has just two extra-base hits and one home run through 43 at-bats. The Astros will opt to keep Marwin Gonzalez's bat in the lineup against righty Matt Shoemaker following the return of Carlos Correa, but Gurriel still figures to get the start at first base most days going forward.
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Jose Abreu 1B | HOU
White Sox's Jose Abreu: Finishes road trip in style
Abreu went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Wednesday's 9-1 loss to the Yankees.
Abreu entered Wednesday's game with a .380 OPS and had been 2-for-31 in the first eight games of the White Sox's road trip. So, having the slugger snap out of his funk, even a little bit, was an encouraging sign for manager Rick Renteria.
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Kole Calhoun 1B | CLE
Angels' Kole Calhoun: Sitting out Wednesday
Calhoun is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.
This is hardly a surprise considering the Angels are facing a tough lefty in Dallas Keuchel and Calhoun is coming off another 0-fer Tuesday -- a four-strikeout showing against Houston. Calhoun's average has dropped nearly 100 points (from .316 to .218) over the course of the last five games. He is 1-for-12 against southpaws so far after batting .290/.366/.465 against left-handed pitching last season.
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Kole Calhoun 1B | CLE
Angels' Kole Calhoun: Wears golden sombrero Tuesday
Calhoun had a rough day at the plate Tuesday, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in a 5-2 win over Houston.
After a hot start to the season, the 29-year-old's bat has gone ice-cold recently. Calhoun has failed to record a hit in his last 17 at-bats, watching his batting average dip to .218 in the process. He has too much of a recent track record to simply be dumped this early in the season, so owners should ride out the slump or simply bench the outfielder until he turns things around.
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Yuli Gurriel DH | SD
Astros' Yulieski Gurriel: Hits first homer Tuesday
Gurriel went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Angels.
He came out of the gate slowly, but the 32-year-old Cuban has now collected nine hits in his last six games to push his slash line on the season up to a semi-respectable .268/.286/.390. With A.J. Reed hitting just .238 in Triple-A, Gurriel's starting role at first base seems secure.
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Chris Carter 1B | LAA
Yankees' Chris Carter: Absent from lineup Sunday
Carter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
The Yankees will go with the left-handed Jacoby Ellsbury at designated hitter against righty Adam Wainwright for Sunday's series finale. Carter is slashing .182/.240/.273 with no home runs through his first 22 at-bats of the season. He'll have a chance to draw back into the lineup Monday against southpaw Derek Holland.
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C.J. Cron 1B | BOS
Angels' C.J. Cron: Returns to lineup in series finale
Cron is back in the lineup at first base for Sunday's game against the Royals, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports. He'll bat sixth in the order.
Cron had curiously vanished from the lineup card in each of the previous three games, with manager Mike Scioscia deployed either Albert Pujols or Jefry Marte at first base. Since Pujols sees most of his at-bats as a DH these days, Marte looks like Cron's primary competition for starts, and up to this point, the numbers have favored Cron, who has gone 7-for-23 with three runs and an RBI.
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Carlos Santana 1B | ATL
Indians' Carlos Santana: Breaks slump with three-hit effort
Santana went 3-for-6 with a double, a homer and four RBI in Saturday's win against the Tigers.
Santana launched his second homer of the season in the second inning to give the Indians a 5-0 lead of a game they'd win easily. After collecting just a single hit over his previous 22 at-bats, his performance moved his batting average up 38 points, but it's the homer that likely got his fantasy owners excited, as he's looking to replicate the career-high 34 of them he hit in 2016.