MLB Player News

Santana went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two RBI and a walk in Tuesday's game against Texas.

The first baseman started the party by leading off the game with a blast to right field, his first long ball of the year. Rangers starter Martin Perez made the mistake of throwing Santana the same pitch (94 mph fastball) throughout the at-bat, and the slugger made him pay on the fourth delivery. The switch-hitter is now 4-for-8 with nine total bases through the season's first two games.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs against the Giants on Tuesday.

He's off to a typical start, going 3-for-7 over the season's first two games. After he saw his power drop a bit last year while his steals rose, look for Goldschmidt to see the reverse effect this year -- a return to 30 homers with his typical great batting average seems more than reasonable, but it's doubtful that he'll reach 30 steals again.

Cron is out of the lineup Tuesday against the A's.

Jefry Marte will take over at first base and bat fifth against lefty Sean Manaea. Cron hit just .237/.287/.387 against lefties last year while Marte hit .244/.322/.462 against southpaws in 2016. The two players may be deployed in a strict platoon at first base until Luis Valbuena (hamstring) is cleared to return to action.

Gurriel is not in the lineup for the Astros' matchup with the Mariners on Tuesday, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 33-year-old had a quiet season debut, so with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma taking the mound for Seattle, the Astros decided to give Gurriel the night off. Marwin Gonzalez will take his place in the lineup, batting ninth and playing first base.

Singleton was assigned to Double-A Corpus Christi to open the regular season, the Houston Chronicle's Jake Kaplan reports.

Singleton has already been removed from the Astros' 40-man roster, but he will still make $2 million this season in the penultimate year of the extension he signed in 2014. With A.J. Reed set to be the everyday first baseman at Triple-A, Singleton will need to go down to Double-A, a level he has not played at since 2013, in order to get everyday at-bats. It's unclear how Singleton's career would have been different if he never signed that extension, but it has worked as something of a gift and a curse, as he will need to wait two years to get a fresh start in a different organization unless the Astros are willing to buy him out.

Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Monday's 6-0 win over the Braves.

Hitting second for the Mets behind Jose Reyes, Cabrera picked up right where he left off in 2016, a season in which he posted a career-high .810 OPS. The steal was a bit of a surprise, as the 31-year-old only managed 11 stolen bases over the last two seasons combined, but if he maintains a premium spot in the batting order he should be a steady source of runs and RBI.

Santana went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's 8-5 come-from-behind victory over the Rangers.

Hiis high OBP makes Santana an ideal candidate to hit leadoff for the Tribe. The switch-hitter had a career year in 2016 and could put up similar numbers with full health in 2017. He's the perfect corner-infield or utility player, especially in leagues that count his on-base skills.

Freeman went 3-for-4 with a triple in Monday's Opening Day loss to the Mets.

Coming off a season in which he hit a career-high six triples, Freeman knocked a three-bagger for his first hit of 2017. The Braves scored the second-fewest runs (649) in MLB last year, but their lineup is expected to be markedly improved this season, even though it didn't look the part Monday. Freeman has been able to produce strong numbers with a weak supporting cast in recent campaigns, so assuming the roster pans out as anticipated, the first baseman could see a boost in stats this year.

Diaz will play third base and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Rangers.

To compensate for the absence of Jason Kipnis (shoulder), Jose Ramirez will move over from his usual post at third base to the keystone, enabling Diaz to enter the lineup for his major-league debut. The 25-year-old rose up the ranks after showing stellar plate discipline at both Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last season, and he carried that success over to spring training. However, Diaz has yet to tap into much power or make much of an impact on the bases, which makes it somewhat difficult to get excited about his prospects from a fantasy perspective. He'll likely settle into a reserve role or even get returned to Columbus once Kipnis is ready to go.

The Indians purchased Diaz's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Sunday.

Diaz was able to parlay a strong spring at the dish into an Opening Day roster spot with the Tribe, and he could even find himself in line for regular starts as he begins his MLB career. With Jason Kipnis (shoulder) opening the season on the DL, manager Terry Francona could opt to have Jose Ramirez move over from third base to second, which would clear the hot corner for Diaz.