MLB Player News

Buxton went 1-for-4 with his third home run in six games Sunday for Triple-A Rochester. He's hitting .276/.344/.534 in 14 games since being sent to the minors.

Buxton began the season as Minnesota's starting center fielder, but struggled to make contact, hitting .156 with a 24:2 K:BB in 45 at-bats. It looks like he's finally turning his season around at Triple-A, as he has six walks in 58 at-bats. The Twins may let Buxton gain confidence at Triple-A for several months before bringing him back to the majors again.

Miller went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Angels.

Miller was ice cold heading into the weekend series, but he went 6-for-14 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in the three-game set. The hot hitting raised his average 42 points to .217, and the will look to establish some consistency moving forward as the Rays' second-place hitter.

Cabrera went 4-for-5 with a run scored in Saturday's 10-5 loss to the Rangers.

The struggling slugger enjoyed his second four-hit game of the season, and second multi-hit game of the last five. All four hits were singles, but did extend what has been a resurgent month at the plate to date for Cabrera. He's now slashing .348/.444/.348 over seven May games, and has brought his season average up 80 points to .286 since April 24.

Brantley is not in the lineup Saturday against the Royals.

Jose Ramirez is swinging a hot bat, and the Indians opted to get him in the lineup in left field while providing a day off for Brantley on Saturday. Brantley should be the primary left fielder for the Indians going forward, however.

Colon went 2-for-4 in Friday's 7-1 loss to the Indians.

The 26-year-old is seeing starts all over the infield and found himself at third base Friday. He managed his first multi-hit game of the season, bringing his slash line up to .250/.308/.292 over 24 at-bats. Manager Ned Yost has also indicated that the former No.1 pick may see additional opportunities in the coming days at second base.

Goins is not in the lineup Saturday against the Dodgers, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

Goins will sit for the second time in three games, as the Jays will go with Darwin Barney at second base and Troy Tulowitzki at short. Goins is off to a rough start to the season, hitting just .149 with 22 strikeouts in 87 at-bats.

Manager Brad Ausmus confirmed that Martinez is not sitting Friday due to injury, the Oakland Press reports. "[Martinez] was really last man standing, that hasn't had a day off," Ausmus said. "And you can tell, watching him in batting practice, that mentally he could use a day, when he doesn't have to grind over every single pitch or every single at-bat."

Mike Aviles is starting in right field with Martinez on the bench for the first time this season. Martinez will miss out on an enticing matchup against a lefty on Friday, but hopefully the day off will allow him to recharge his batteries. The 28-year-old Martinez is just 3-for-26 with one extra-base hit over the past week.

Manager Ned Yost said Friday that Colon could see more action at second base in the near future, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.

Regular second baseman Omar Infante is not doing much at the plate this season, so it appears the Royals are ready to give Colon -- their top pick in the 2010 draft -- more opportunities on the field. The process seems to have started already, as Colon will start Friday -- at third base, however -- for the third time in five days.

Martinez is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.

Mike Aviles will man right field and bat second against lefty Cole Hamels. The team has not given any indication Martinez is ailing, but his absence against a southpaw is odd to say the least. Martinez has posted an OPS well over .900 against lefties since the start of last season.

Brantley went 4-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run as part of Thursday's 16-hit parade against the Tigers.

Brantley, who missed most of April after offseason surgery on his right shoulder, raised his batting average from .167 to .276. The outfielder had four hits in 24 at-bats since being activated April 24 and doubled that with Thursday's breakout performance. Assuming he remains healthy, there's not much reason to believe Brantley can't once again reach the 15-15 mark. And, if he gets really hot this summer, then a 20-20 year could be within the realm of possibility.