MLB Player News

The Indians are willing to be patient with third baseman Carlos Santana, according to the Plain Dealer. 

Santana has struggled to open the year, hitting just .136 in 125 at-bats. Despite that, manager Terry Francona isn't going to go away from Santana any time soon. "We’ll have a lot of patience with him," Francona said. "He’s our cleanup hitter. We’re not going to send him to Triple-A." 

Francona added that the team doesn't want to miss out on a Santana hot streak. "We need to be patience because when he gets hot, he’ll get very hot," he said. "If you’re not patient, you miss out on that."

Angels rookie first baseman C.J. Cron began the game Saturday in Toronto hot. He left it hotter.

Cron blasted his first career home run in the third inning and after singling in a run and scoring in the first. He boosted his batting average to .417 and slugging percentage to .667 in the process.

Even a sore ankle couldn't slow White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu down Friday, as he connected on his 13th home run of the season in a 9-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Abreu, in the lineup but limited to designated hitter work due to the ankle, still went 3 for 4 in the game. He drove in two runs, one on a solo home run in the seventh inning, while also scoring twice.

Abreu is now hitting .279/.333/.633, while leading the American League with 13 home runs and 37 RBI as a rookie. 

White Sox slugger Jose Abreu has returned to the lineup for the Friday night game at Arizona. He will not have missed a full game - he was yanked from the game Thursday with an ailing ankle. He will serve as the designated hitter with Adam Dunn taking over at first base.

Abreu has been the talk of baseball in 2013. He leads the majors with 12 home runs and ranks second with 35 RBI. His .608 slugging percentage is third.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu was pulled from Thursday's 12-5 loss to the Cubs with a left ankle injury, manager Robin Ventura told reporters after the game, according to Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Abreu stayed in the game until the ninth inning before he was lifted for Marcus Semien. He finished 1 for 4 with a single.

"He just seemed like he was limping a little bit tonight, that's why in the end there I took him out," Ventura said. "He says he's fine. He's limping around a little bit, but he'll be fine."

He is hitting .266/.323/.608 with 12 homers and 35 RBI in 143 at-bats. His status remains uncertain for Friday's game against Arizona.

Twins surprising first baseman Chris Colabello has slumped off since a torrid start, but has remained productive at times. One of those times was in the sixth inning of the game Thursday in Cleveland when he slammed a two-run double to put his team on the board.

Colabello has exactly one hit in each of his last six games, but hasn't had a multi-hit game since April 23 and has just eight hits in his last 51 at-bats to lower his average from .346 to .271. He is still among the American League leaders in RBI with 30.

Embattled Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera got picked off first Thursday and allowed a dribbler to turn into a two-run single, but he had one heck of a day at the plate against Minnesota.

Cabrera not only recorded his first four-hit game since May 5, 2012, but nearly hit for the cycle. He slammed a home run in the second, single in the fifth, double in the seventh and another double in the eighth that could have been ruled a triple. Cabrera had rounded second when the throw was heaved to the plate.

His six hits in the last two games has raised his average from .205 to .238.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun ran on the field before Wednesday's game "pretty close to full intensity," MLB.com reports. Calhoun will join the team in Arizona over the weekend, and he hopes to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun participated in live batting practice before Monday's game, MLB.com reports.

Calhoun is close to being able to jog on the field, according to manager Mike Scioscia. The outfielder is recovering from a sprained ankle, and he is hoping to begin a rehab assignment in about two weeks.

Judging by his pedigree and minor-league track record, C.J. Cron probably has a future in the majors, perhaps even as an everyday player. But I don't know that he's worth a roster spot in mixed leagues only two games into his career.

Yes, he's looked good so far, going 5 for 9, but power is more his game. His lack of plate discipline could make him a liability in batting average at the big-league level. Twice he got more than 500 at-bats in a minor-league season, but never did he get more than 23 walks.

Of course, he was hitting .319 for Triple-A Salt Lake at the time of his callup, but for comparison's sake, Mark Trumbo, another former Angel with poor plate discipline, hit .301 at the same level. And clearly, he hasn't offered much in the way of batting average.

Then again, Trumbo has had a place on mixed-league rosters, high batting average or not, since he first became an everyday player in 2010. But is Cron ready to deliver Trumbo-like power in his first stint in the big leagues? I'm skeptical, but I think that's his best bet for mixed league-caliber production.

I'm not saying Cron doesn't have his place in Fantasy, but when I look on the waiver wire in those formats, I see players I'd rather have, like Corey Hart, James Loney or even Lucas Duda.