MLB Player News

Calhoun went 2-for-4 with his eighth home run of the season in Saturday's win over Minnesota.

The veteran has picked things up at the plate recently, collecting three multi-hit performances with three homers over his last three contests. His .224 batting average has been suppressed by a poor .256 BABIP, but his luck appears to be catching up with his career norms in the month of June. Calhoun is back on a 20-homer pace, and his batting average and run production should follow suit while serving as the club's two-hole hitter in Mike Trout's (thumb) absence.

Olson was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.

Olson doesn't have a clear path to everyday at-bats with the Athletics outfield at full strength, but the promotion to the big leagues is a nice reward nonetheless for his domination of the Pacific Coast League. The 23-year-old was slashing .285/.374/.575 with 14 home runs and 37 RBI over 179 at-bats with Nashville.

Cron was recalled by the Angels on Saturday.

Cron's monster game (two home runs, seven RBI) Thursday at Triple-A Salt Lake was apparently enough to convince the Angels that he's over his slump and ready to return to the big leagues. He'll take the struggling Jefry Marte's roster spot upon arriving in Anaheim. Cron will have to wait until Sunday to make his return to the lineup, however, as Albert Pujols is serving as the DH and Luis Valbuena is playing first base Saturday against the Twins.

Santana went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI Saturday against the Royals.

Santana launched his seventh blast of the year to put the Tribe on the board in the second inning of a road loss. Across the board, the eighth-year veteran is putting up the worst slash line of his career, and until he turns things around, he's a weak fantasy option.

Gurriel is not in the lineup for Saturday's game agains the Rangers.

As has been the pattern the last several weeks, Gurriel will give way to Marwin Gonzalez after making three consecutive starts at first base. Gurriel posted just a .566 OPS in May, but he is showing signs of getting back on track with five hits over his last four games.

Carter is out of the lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports,

Even with Greg Bird (ankle) out, Carter has been sitting every four or five games lately. He is 1-for-21 with nine strikeouts over his last eight games, and is clearly in one of his notorious lengthy slumps. Rob Refsnyder is starting at first base and hitting ninth.

Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Thursday's loss to the Twins.

It's no secret that the 29-year-old has struggled this season (.213/.293/.348), but he was clearly seeing the ball well in this one, and it could be the spark the veteran needed to finally pick things up at the plate. If Calhoun was dropped due to his slow start, giving him another shot in anticipation of a potential hot streak could prove fruitful.

Carter is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Orioles.

With a .629 OPS over 119 plate appearances this season, Carter hasn't provided the pop the Yankees were banking on after he assumed a regular starting role at first base earlier this month following Greg Bird's (ankle) placement on the disabled list. Bird is set to begin a rehab assignment Thursday and could come off the DL and settle into an everyday role as soon as next week, but Carter may lose out on primary starting duties at the position even before then. Carter finds himself on the bench for the second straight game Wednesday with recent call-up Rob Refsnyder earning another nod at first base.

Carter is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Orioles, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Carter has just six hits (albeit three home runs) over the past two weeks, so he'll head to the bench for a night off Tuesday. Rob Refsnyder will fill in at first base for the evening.

Gurriel is out of the lineup Monday against the Twins.

Gurriel has started three in a row at first base and six of the last seven games overall, but will give way to Marwin Gonzalez for the afternoon showdown in Minnesota. Despite a bit of a May slump, Gurriel had a strong day at the plate Sunday, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.