MLB Player News

Mets infielder Justin Turner started at second base Thursday against the Padres in place of Daniel Murphy, and Turner got hits in his first three at-bats of the season. He finished 3 for 4 with a double.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen stole two more bases on Thursday, bringing his total to four on the season. He has at least one steal in all three games this season. 

McCutchen predicted this back in January, telling CBSSports.com that he was going to work on stealing more bases in 2013, noting he only stole 20 bases last year.

"I want," McCutchen said, "to have a lot more than that."

But what is "a lot" more? 40? 50? McCutchen's career high is 33 (he stole 34 in a minor-league season), but if he's actively working on improving that one category, the sky could be the limit. 

I'll put a guess at 40 steals for McCutchen this year, based on him saying he wanted to steal more, his first three games and his proven ability to run. There's probably no way to buy low at this point, but feel free to wear a smug little smile for the rest of the day if you drafted him partially because of his stolen base comments. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen said in the offseason he wanted to focus on being more productive on the base paths in 2013. Thus far, McCutchen is succeeding as he is 2 for 2 on stolen-base attempts through two games.

"Small sample, but very encouraging to see," manager Clint Hurdle said of McCutchen pushing the envelope on the bases, per MLB.com. "Actions speak louder than words. In the winter, we talk about a lot of things, and his intent is to make the words jump off the paper and become real."

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen drove in his first run of the 2013 campaign Wednesday night against the Cubs.

He doubled home Garrett Jones in the fourth inning and came around to score on Starlin Castro's fielding error.

McCutchen finished 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base in the 3-0 win.

The 26-year-old has gone 2 for 6 (.333) through the first two games with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was out of the lineup for the second straight game on Wednesday against the Dodgers as he continued to deal with an illness. Buster Posey played first base in his absence with Hector Sanchez getting the start behind the plate.

Belt went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts on opening day after batting .343 with a .596 slugging percentage during spring training.

Marlins vice president of player development Marty Scott said outfield prospect Marcell Ozuna might be out three more weeks while he recovers from a fractured left wrist, according to MLB.com. Ozuna sustained the injury crashing into a fence in late March.

Ozuna is expected to open the season at Double-A Jacksonville when he's recovered from his wrist injury.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter flashed his extra-base power for the second game in a row to open the season Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

Carpenter slugged a pair of doubles in the game to give him three through the season's first two games. He finished the game 2 for 5 with one run scored, in a 6-1 victory. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt missed Tuesday's game against the Dodgers due to an illness, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Belt is day to day. 

The slugger, who went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts Monday against the Dodgers in the opener, received IV fluids before the game and played through the illness but took Tuesday off. 

San Francisco expects Belt to return Wednesday against Josh Beckett. 

The Cubs announced Tuesday outfield prospect Jorge Soler will begin the 2013 season at Class A Daytona, according to MLB.com. 

Soler, who is considered the team's third-best prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com, hit .222 with one homer, one triple, one double and three RBI in 17 spring games. Soler has a minor-league slash line of .299/.369/.463/.832 in 34 games. He also has five homers, seven doubles and 25 RBI.

Matt Carpenter received the start at third base for the Cardinals on opening day Monday night against the Diamondbacks. He went 1 for 4 with a run scored in the 6-2 loss.

The 27-year-old doubled off starter Ian Kennedy in his first at-bat and came around to score on Matt Holliday's double.

Carpenter, who batted .304 during spring training, is playing the hot corner with David Freese (back) injured.