MLB Player News

Angels 1B/DH C.J. Cron homered for the second straight game during Thursday's spring game against the Cubs. He went 2 for 4 with two runs and one RBI.

Cron is off to a good start this spring. He is batting .389 (7 for 18) with one double, two home runs, four RBI and four runs in seven games.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura is pretty confident Jose Abreu will perform well again this season, reports MLB.com. Many fear he may hit a sophomore slump, but Ventura lauds Abreu's maturity as a reason for him being just fine this year.

"He's more of a mature kid than most people, just in his daily interactions of coming in to work and all the things that he does," Ventura said. "There are guys older than him that are less mature than him. It's more about him than anything else. He's not caught up in numbers."

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores has been able to keep doubters away so far this spring. Flores has shown vast improvement on defense, including a diving grab on Xander Bogaerts Sunday, reports N.Y. Daily News.

"He's centered on one job and one job only. He is not bouncing around at second or backing up David," manager Terry Collins said. "Look, we have to find out if he can play shortstop. But so far he’s done well."

Joey Votto returned to the Reds' lineup on Saturday and went one-for-two. 

Votto played for the first time since July 5. He missed 100 games with a strained quadriceps.

On Saturday, Votto played three innings in the field and had two plate appearances before leaving the game.

"It was good to get some swings off. I'm behind most guys right now," Votto told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "I'm typically a slow [to] get-it-going sort of guy so I'll have to be sure to play hurry-up offense." 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto is slated to make his spring debut Saturday against the Royals. He is penciled in to bat second and start at first base.

The Reds have been cautious with Votto early in spring training as he missed 100 games in 2014 due to a left knee injury.

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores returned to the spring lineup Friday against the Tigers after leaving Wednesday's spring game against the Nationals. Flores exited Wednesday's game after getting hit on the right pinkie finger in the fifth inning.

Anthony Rizzo has primarily hit third in his major-league career with the Cubs, but manager Joe Maddon is toying with the idea of batting Rizzo second when he opts to hit the pitcher eighth in the lineup. 

“I liked Jimmy Edmonds batting two,” Maddon said when Edmonds was an Angel, per ESPN. “I liked when we put him in the two hole. When you get a better hitter like that in the lineup, you want someone at the bottom to feed him.” 

Rizzo would like to stay in the same spot in the lineup, but he said he is just focused on getting his timing down at the plate.

“I think everyone would like one spot but it doesn’t matter to me,” Rizzo said Thursday. “I just want to see a live at-bat first before I worry about where I’m hitting.” 

Reds manager Bryan Price said Thursday first baseman Joey Votto is getting closer to making his spring debut, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. Votto missed 100 games last season with a left knee injury. 

"You won't have to hold your breath, I promise you, you won't have to hold your breath for this," Price said. "Just to reiterate, we just went too far into the rehab and made a commitment to do an extensive rehab to do anything before we feel he's ready. I think he's very close and he's champing at the bit to get in there."

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores was forced out of Thursday's spring training game after being hit by a pitch on the wrist/forearm region, reports MLB.com. Manager Terry Collins told reporters that his hand was "fine" after the game, per ESPN.

Flores is viewed as the favorite to win the shortstop job after he hit .251 in 78 games and had a .979 fielding percentage at shortstop in 2014.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is not concerned about his hand this year, according to MLB.com.

Goldschmidt saw his first game action since last season on Tuesday, singling in his first at-bat since August 1. Goldschmidt missed the final two months of 2014 due to a broken hand, but said the injury has not been an issue during camp. 

"It was the last thing on my mind," Goldschmidt said. "It's not the first time I've gotten hit. It's not the first time I've gotten injured. Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but chances are something is going to happen in the future."

Goldschmidt has been wearing a small pad in his batting glove in order to prevent the injury should he get hit in the same spot. He's used the pad during batting practices, and said he doesn't even feel it. 

The 27-year-old hit .300/.396/.542 over 406 at-bats last season.