MLB Player News

The Indians have bounced shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera from seventh in the batting order in the opener to leadoff in the second game of the regular season Wednesday in Oakland.

Terry Francona was encouraged by his performance this spring as Cabrera seeks to recover from a miserable year at the plate in 2013. Cabrera will likely continue to hit at that spot against left-handers such as Wednesday starter Scott Kazmir until Michael Bourn (hamstring) returns to the lineup.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is in the leadoff spot for Tuesday's game against Oakland's lefty starter Scott Kazmir.

Cabrera went 1 for 3 with one walk and one run while batting seventh in Monday's season opener, which came against a right-handed starter. Cabrera shifts to the top of the lineup against the lefty Tuesday. The switch hitter as performed slightly better against southpaws over his career, hitting .286/.338/.424 with 18 home runs in 944 at-bats against lefties. He didn't see one at-bat from the No. 1 spot in the lineup last season.

In the real-world sense, Carlos Santana's move to third base full-time is a big deal. His ability to play a premium position helps him retain some of the value he loses by no longer catching every day.

But for Fantasy owners, it doesn't really change anything. He's still eligible at catcher this year and because he'll back up Yan Gomes at the position, he figures to be eligible there next year as well.

In Fantasy, anybody who's eligible at catcher should play catcher. It's as simple as that. Catchers have to sit more often than any other position players, so their Head-to-Head point production, relative to other positions, is lacking. For you Rotisserie league owners, their run and RBI totals are also lacking. Go compare the numbers. It's plainly evident.

But won't playing third base every day give him more at-bats than the average catcher? Yes, but that's all the more incentive to play him at catcher, where he'll give your team a bigger advantage over the competition.

That's not to say you can't play him at third base in an emergency situation, but slotting him there for the long haul is wasting his value. If nothing else, you should be able to trade him to a team with a need at catcher for an even better third baseman.

The Indians have named Carlos Santana the team's starting third baseman, according to MLB.com.

Santana was competing with Lonnie Chisenhall during camp, but has won the job. Santana will not be used in a platoon with Chisenhall. Instead, he will be the full-time starter. Santana will also serve as the club's backup catcher. 

Santana hit .268/.377/.455 in 541 at-bats last year.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu was back in the spring lineup Monday against the Mariners after leaving Friday's game due to ankle soreness. Abreu is batting .317 (13 for 41) with two home runs and nine RBI this spring.

The Astros are open to acquiring a first baseman via a trade, CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reports. For now, though, Houston is looking at a possible Marc Krauss/Jesus Guzman platoon, with Chris Carter also being an option at first base.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura is leaning toward hitting Jose Abreu third in the lineup to start the season, Comcast SportsNet Chicago reports.

Abreu is 13 for 41 with two home runs this spring. He is dealing with ankle soreness, but it is not considered anything serious. He will not be back in the lineup until at least Monday, according to the report.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu was removed from Friday's game due to ankle soreness after going 1 for 2 at the plate.

It's an issue with which Abreu has been playing for at least a week. He should be available for opening day. Abreu is 13 for 41 with two home runs this spring.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun went 2 for 4 and hit a walkoff two-run home run in his team's 8-7 win over the Giants Monday.

The homer was Calhoun's first of spring, and he also recorded his second steal Monday. He has been showing superb plate patience this spring, walking eight times while going 11 for 39 one triple, one home run and six RBI.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu is planning to play through his ankle injury, according to MLB.com. 

Abreu stressed that the injury was nothing big, and that he wanted to play. "If I knew it was something worse than that, I probably would sit," Abreu said through a translator. "It's nothing but soreness." Abreu was able to play against the Dodgers Saturday night despite the injury.