MLB Player News

Gillaspie, 24, has slashed .258/.333/.419 across 36 plate appearances with Triple-A Durham this season.

Gillaspie, a first-round pick in 2014, has shown excellent plate discipline throughout every stop of the minors, but since he can only play first base, the Rays will probably need him to flash more power in the upper minors before giving him his first taste of the big leagues. With the Rays currently deploying a low-ceiling platoon at first base of Logan Morrison and Rickie Weeks, it's not hard to envision Gillaspie eventually finding steady at-bats once he's promoted.

Cron is not in the lineup Saturday against Kansas City, 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City reports.

Cron sat against left-hander Danny Duffy on Friday, and he'll remain out of the lineup Saturday, even with righty Nate Karns on the mound for Kansas City. Albert Pujols will get the nod at first base, while Mike Trout serves as the DH.

Calhoun will drop down to fifth in the order for Saturday's game against the Royals.

Saturday marks the first time this season that Calhoun isn't batting second in the Angels' order. That said, it's possible that manager Mike Scioscia wanted to shake things up in the lineup after the Angels were held to seven combined runs over their last three games. Calhoun and the Angels will be facing right-hander Nathan Karns on Saturday.

Carter is slotted in the third spot as the designated hitter for Saturday's matinee against the Cardinals, Brandon Kuty of The Star-Ledger reports.

Carter receives the spot start in place of an ailing Matt Holliday (back). The 30-year-old slugger is hitting .176/.250/.294 to begin the season, stats he will need to improve upon if he wants to see more playing time.

Gurriel is out of the lineup Friday against the A's.

Marwin Gonzalez will get an opportunity at first base against right-hander Kendall Graveman. Gurriel got off to a bit of a rocky start this season, going 2-for-21 in his first six games, but he's picked it up with six hits in his last three games (five singles). He remains the primary first baseman for Houston.

Cron is not in the lineup Friday against the Royals, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Cron has become part of a platoon with Jeffry Marte in the early going, so the former will head to the bench with southpaw Danny Duffy toeing the rubber for Kansas City. Look for Cron to resume his normal role in the lineup Saturday when right-hander Nathan Karns takes the hill.

Cron came off the bench Thursday, going 0-for-1 in his only plate appearance against the Rangers.

It appeared that a strict platoon was developing at first base with Cron and Jeffry Marte. However, manager Mike Scioscia benched the lefty against the right-handed Yu Darvish on Thursday. The 27-year-old Cron is batting .304 (7-for-23) in seven games this season, so the benching is a bit puzzling. He was still worth rostering for his power on the strong side of a first base platoon, but after Thursday's lineup construction, it is unclear what Scioscia has in mind regarding playing time, making it hard to roster either first baseman for the time being.

Abreu went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI during Thursday's win over the Indians.

It's been a pedestrian start for the first baseman, as Abreu has just two runs, four RBI and one extra-base hit. He's still looking for his first home run of the season and sports a .250/.294/.281 slash line. It's too early to count him out, but it's also worth noting that the 30-year-old slugger has seen his home run total, slugging percentage and wOBA drop in consecutive years since his impressive rookie campaign in 2014.

Cron is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Rangers.

Cron has been solid at the plate after playing in five games and has gone 6-for-19 (.316) over said outings. However, he'll head to the bench Tuesday while Jefry Marte starts at first base.

Gurriel batted ninth in the order and went 1-for-3 with a double in Monday's 6-0 loss to the Mariners.

The double was Gurriel's third hit (and first extra-base hit) in 24 at-bats to open the year. That explains why the first baseman is hitting up the rear of the order. He's handled the transition to first base in the field well, but his bat is lagging. They'll give him some leash, but the Astros have a couple promising first basemen at Triple-A Fresno, Tyler White and A.J. Reed, both of whom have some MLB experience. There are options if manager A.J. Hinch wants to make a change at first.