MLB Player News

Athletics manager Bob Melvin indicated that Mark Canha may see playing time in the outfield as well as at first base, the Associated Press reports.

"Canha can go against lefties or righties and even play some outfield," Melvin said.

Acquired after being selected by the Rockies in the Rule 5 draft this offseason, Canha has spent most of his minor-league career at first base but has seen 83 appearances in left field and nine in right field, as well as 29 at third base and one behind the plate. He hit .303/.384/.505 with 20 home runs and 82 RBI in 465 at-bats with Triple-A New Orleans in 2014.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley was unable to take part in sprinting drills on Tuesday with a sore lower back, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Brantley is coming off a breakout season where he slashed .327/.385/.506 with 20 homers and 97 RBI over 611 at-bats. At this point, it remains to be seen when the 27-year-old will resume sprinting drills.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Tuesday that in order to encourage Yoenis Cespedes to more of a well-rounded offensive threat, he'll have Cespedes paired up in the same hitting group as Miguel Cabrera this spring, reports MLive.com.

"I think the best way to do it is to put him in the same hitting group as Miggy," Ausmus said. "Miggy does that a lot. Honestly. I'm being dead serious. Put him in the same hitting group as Miggy and let him watch the best hitter in the game do it on a daily basis."

Cespedes, 29, was acquired in a December trade with Boston. He hit .260 with 100 RBI last season between Oakland and Boston. He owns a .263 average, .464 slugging percentage and .780 OPS in 416 games over three MLB seasons.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Monday he is "seriously considering" batting catcher Alex Avila second in the order against right-handed pitchers, per MLive.com. Anthony Gose appears to be the other main option, but Gose could also lead off, which would allow Ian Kinsler to bat second.

Ausmus added Jose Iglesias could also work into the mix, but he doesn't see Yoenis Cespedes, J.D. Martinez or Nick Castellanos as options to bat second.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Monday first baseman Miguel Cabrera arrived to camp in great shape, despite being limited in the offseason due to ankle surgery in October.

"He looks good," Ausmus said, per MLB.com. "He's walking around good. He's stayed in shape. ... He wasn't sitting on the couch eating Cheetos.

"He was very limited for the first six weeks. But he looks good. It's certainly good to have him here."

Cabrera was cleared to begin basic baseball activities last week. The Tigers remain hopeful Cabrera will be ready around the start of the season.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera was able to begin hitting Thursday and reported no pain to manager Brad Ausmus, reports the Detroit News.

Cabrera is recovering from offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle. He is expected to report to camp later this week.

The Tigers announced Wednesday first baseman Miguel Cabrera has been cleared to initiate non-impact baseball activity, including hitting and throwing, following Dr. Robert Anderson's review of Cabrera's CT scan. Cabrera underwent surgery in late October to remove bone spurs from his right ankle.

He will begin a running progression until full weight-bearing is achieved. While the team has no definite timetable for Cabrera, they remain optimistic he "could be ready close to opening day."

Miguel Cabrera will get his surgically-repaired right foot examined on Tuesday, before the first baseman reports to Tigers' spring training next week, MLB.com reported. 

While removing a bone spur from Cabrera's right ankle during the offseason, Charlotte, NC surgeon Robert Anderson found and repaired a previously-unknown fracture in Cabrera's right foot. 

Anderson will check the progress of Cabrera's rehab from the surgeries and give his foot a CT. 

If Cabrera's healing has made sufficient progress, he'll be cleared to begin workouts with the rest of the Tigers next week, although trainers expect him to have some catching up to do with his conditioning. 

Update: Cabrera had the CT scan, as scheduled on Tuesday. The results were sent to Dr. Anderson, who will provide the team with a report on his condition on Wednesday. 

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos doesn't see the team adding a second baseman before the start of the regular season, but the team is still exploring options to add to the bullpen via trade or free agency, MLB.com reports.

"Second base, I don't expect anything to change between now and the time camp starts," Anthopoulos told reporters Thursday. "We had some things we worked on, we just couldn't get close. The bullpen, those are still open, both in trade and free agency."

The Blue Jays appear ready to address the second-base position with one of four internal candidates: Ryan Goins, Maicer Izturis, Steve Tolleson or Danny Valencia. Goins, Tolleson and Valencia all had between 150 and 200 at-bats with the Blue Jays last season, while Izturis racked up 365 at-bats with the team in 2013.

Though the team is exploring bullpen options, the Blue Jays may not necessarily add a high-profile closer, as Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons expressed confidence that left-hander Brett Cecil or right-hander Aaron Sanchez could handle the role.

Twins designated hitter Kennys Vargas is already training at the team's spring-training complex in Fort Myers, Fla., despite the fact that position players aren't required to report until Feb. 27, MLB.com reports.

"I'm prepared," Vargas said. "I'm going to Spring Training to compete. I'm going to compete to be the DH and the backup to [Joe] Mauer. So I'm excited for that. I have to take advantage of the opportunity the Twins give me and do my job."

Vargas has been committed to his conditioning this offseason while working to improve his agility in order to improve his defense at first base. He is aiming to follow up a quality debut in 2014 with a better campaign in 2015.

"I'm focused on this year," Vargas said. "I want to do the same work I did last year, but I always try to go for more. Every year, I learn a little bit more. I want to help us win more games than last year."

Vargas hit .274/.316/.456 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in 215 at-bats with the Twins in 2014 while finishing with a .281/.360/.472 line and 17 home runs in 356 at-bats at the Double-A level.