MLB Player News

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera continued to emerge from a slump and hit well against left-handers Thursday against Kansas City.

Cabrera raised his batting average to .238 with a two-game game. He singled in the first off Royals southpaw Bruce Chen and added a two-run double in the fifth to give his team a 5-0 lead. He has 16 hits in his last 53 at-bats.

Twins designated hitter Chris Colabello went 2 for 6 with a home run and four RBI in his team's 6-4 win over the Rays Wednesday.

Colabello knocked a two-run home run in the fourth inning to tie things up at two. His next hit came in the 12th inning, with his single bringing home two runs and leading the Twins to a win. He has been excellent in the first few weeks, hitting .346/.386/.577 with three home runs and an AL-leading 26 RBI in 78 at-bats.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said Wednesday he has been dealing with some dryness in his eyes, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Freeman said he met Tuesday with the team optometrist, who said Freeman has some "abrasions in the whites of his eyes." They are treating the condition with drops and gel Freeman puts in his eyes before he goes to sleep.

Freeman was in the lineup Wednesday against the Marlins. The team has an off-day Thursday.

"Everything is all right -- nothing on the corneas," Freeman said. "I had some little abrasions on the whites of my eyes, and it was dry, so I had to clean my lids out and my tear ducts and get them going again. He said I should be fully healthy by Friday. I’ve got to deal with it a little bit (Wednesday), but I’ll be good."

Astros designated hitter Chris Carter went 2 for 4 with two RBI and his first home run of the season in his team's 5-2 win over the Mariners Tuesday.

It's been a rough beginning to the season for Carter, who was 1 for 19 over his previous seven games before Tuesday's two-hit performance. He now owns a .148/.264/.279 line in 61 at-bats.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu kept up his hot hitting Tuesday, going 2 for 3 with his sixth home run in his team's 8-6 loss to the Tigers.

Abreu ended an 0-for-14 slump by going 8 for 16 with three doubles and two home runs over his last four games. He owns a .259/.344/.580 line with six home runs and 19 RBI in 81 at-bats.

Don't look now, but the Phillies' Ryan Howard may just be a Fantasy asset again.

Think back to the beginning of last year. He was finally recovered from the Achilles surgery that ruined his 2012 and was coming off a spring training in which he hit .322 with seven home runs in 87 at-bats. Expectations were rising. Believers were coming out of the woodwork. Most everybody, if only in the deepest recesses of their hearts, held out hope for a rebound.

It didn't happen, of course, which is how we wound up where we are now. But if you think back really hard, you might remember his 2013 actually lived up to the hype at first. He hit .282 with six home runs in his first 117 at-bats, putting him on pace for a 30-35 home runs over a full season.

His troubles began on May 19, when he sat for the first time with "chronic knee soreness." It persisted over the next couple months, causing his numbers to plummet. Only in July did the Phillies discover he had a torn meniscus, ending his season.

So now, here he is in full health for the first time since 2011, when he hit 33 home runs with 116 RBI, doing all the things we said he couldn't do anymore. I don't know about you, but when I review the history, I'm thinking we may have written him off too soon.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBI in his team's 7-0 win over the Dodgers Monday.

Howard has put together impressive performances in back-to-back games, combining to go 6 for 10 with one triple, two home runs and five RBI between his last two games. He has hit .271/.363/.543 with five home runs and 12 RBI in 70 at-bats.

The Astros gave slumping designated hitter Chris Carter the night off Monday against Seattle, MLB.com reports.

Carter, who hit 29 home runs last season, has just two hits in his last 34 at-bats to start his 2014 campaign. He is slashing .123/.250/.211 with two RBI in 68 at-bats.

Indians third baseman Carlos Santana told reporters Monday he is fine and was not in the lineup against the Royals because it was a scheduled day off. Santana also said he's not bothered by a groin injury, which was reported last week as part of the reason for his slow start offensively.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu broke out of his recent struggles on Sunday. launching his fifth home run of the season in a 16-2 win over the Rangers.

Abreu launched a two-run home run in the fifth and doubled in a run in the ninth. He added another double and finished 3 for 6 with two runs scored and three RBI. In his last two games, he has five hits over nine at-bats. He is hitting .243 with five homers and 17 RBI in 74 at-bats.