MLB Player News

The Athletics have gotten off to a slow start this season, but outfielder Yoenis Cespedes tried to kick start things Tuesday against the Mariners.

Cespedes slugged his first home run of the season, a deep shot to center field off Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma in the second inning. That was his lone positive contribution, as he finished 1 for 4 with three strikeouts. Cespedes is just 1 for 8 this season. 

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley got off to a fast start Tuesday in the team's season opener against the Blue Jays.

Brantley, batting fifth and playing left field, went 1 for 2 in the game, and did a solid job getting on base with a pair of walks. He scored one run in the game, while striking out once. The Indians won, 4-1.

Brantley is coming off a breakout season when he batted a career-high .288 with 47 extra-base hits. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera only produced in one Triple Crown category in Monday's win at Minnesota. Cabrera drove in his first run of the season in the game. 

The All-Star and future Hall of Famer started the season 0 for 5 in the 4-2 win over the Twins. That said, his fielder's choice ground out in the first inning plated the first run of the game for Detroit. He also scored a run in the first. 

Cabrera, who added an error in the field on a slow roller hit by Joe Mauer, hit .309 during the spring with four homers and 16 RBI. He should get into the hit column shortly. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera hit .413 with a .652 slugging percentage during the spring a year ago and went on to win the first Triple Crown since 1967. While he was not as productive this camp, the 29-year-old still got plenty of work in heading into the regular season and appears primed to defend his AL MVP award.

Cabrera batted .309 with four homers and 16 RBI in 55 Grapefruit League at-bats. He also slugged .618.

The Mariners reassigned Endy Chavez, Danny Farquhar, Brad Miller and Jesus Sucre to minor-league camp on Sunday.

After seeing the spring A's outfielder Yoenis Cespedes turned in (.295 average, .623 slugging percentage, six HRs, 15 RBI in 22 games), I'm getting more confident in believing this could be the season Cespedes emerges as a top 10 Fantasy outfielder, if he stays healthy.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes homered again in Saturday's exhibition game against the Giants at O.co Coliseum.

Cespedes took Ryan Vogelsong deep in the third inning for a three-run home run. It was his sixth homer in the past 11 games. He was 1 for 4 in the 4-3 victory. The 27-year-old finished spring training with a .295 average, six homers and 15 RBI.

"It looked like it was off the end of the bat," said manager Bob Melvin. "For anybody else, it's probably a medium fly ball to left field. But that shows his strength."

The Astros recalled J.D. Martinez from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday to fill the roster spot vacated by Fernando Martinez's move to the disabled list. Martinez was shipped to the minors last week after hitting .286 with four extra-base hits during 19 games this spring.

The Astros have sent outfielder J.D. Martinez down to Triple-A, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler reports. 

Martinez, 25, struggled mightily in 2012, as he hit just .241/.311/.375 (86 OPS+) after he posted a sharp 104 OPS+ in his rookie year of 2011. The Astros expressed a desire for the outfielder to hit every day. The Astros starting outfield will likely be Chris Carter in left field, Justin Maxwell in center field and Fernando Martinez in right field.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley collected two hits in three at-bats against the Diamondbacks Thursday, including his first home run of the spring, a three-run shot off Ian Kennedy in the first inning.

Brantley hasn't topped seven home runs in a season in his career, so fantasy owners know not to count on power numbers, but he's also hitting .429 after the two-hit performance.