MLB Player News

Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez will bat second against the Brewers on Opening Day Monday.

Gonzalez saw most of his at-bats in 2014 in the third and fourth slots. Just 99 of his 2,817 career at-bats have come in the second slot of the lineup.

The full Rockies lineup for Opening Day: CF Charlie Blackmon, RF Gonzalez, SS Troy Tulowitzki, 1B Justin Morneau, 3B Nolan Arenado, LF Corey Dickerson, C Nick Hundley, 2B DJ LeMahieu, SP Kyle Kendrick.

The Marlins have announced their starting lineup for Monday's Opening Day matchup against the Braves in Miami, with offseason acquisition Michael Morse slotted into the cleanup spot.

Morse is coming off a hot spring in which he hit .347/.429/.673 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 29 at-bats. He'll hit behind No. 3 hitter Giancarlo Stanton and ahead of third baseman Martin Prado.

The full Marlins lineup: 2B Dee Gordon, LF Christian Yelich, RF Stanton, 1B Morse, 3B Prado, CF Marcell Ozuna, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, SP Henderson Alvarez.

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson is believed to have the center field position about locked up, but manager Don Mattingly still hasn't made his official decision, reports MLB.com.

"You can read between the lines," Mattingly said Saturday. 

Pederson started in center during the final week of spring training and hit .349 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 63 plate appearances.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen collected three hits in the team's 7-5 loss to the Phillies on Friday. McCutchen also drove in one run. He recently returned to the lineup after dealing with a lower-body injury.

McCutchen, 28, had a .314 batting average with 25 home runs and 83 RBI last season. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen returned to the starting lineup Friday night against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

McCutchen, who dealt with a lower-body injury earlier this spring, left Wednesday's Grapefruit League contest in the eighth after losing his footing on home plate. He is hitting .321 (9 for 24) this spring.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon isn't focused on increasing his power numbers in 2015 after falling one home run shy of 20 during his breakout season in 2014. Blackmon is slated to hit leadoff for Colorado.

"Power, whatever. I don't look at the game that way," Blackmon said, per The Denver Post. "I just want to be standing on first base when those guys come up to hit. Maybe second base.

"If I run into some home runs, that's good too. But the value I bring to the team is to be on base, maybe distract the pitcher with a few stolen bases here and there and maybe the guy behind me gets more fastballs."

Blackmon had 13 of his 19 home runs at hitter-friendly Coors Field last season and all 19 of his home runs came out of the leadoff spot.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen didn't run out a ground ball in the eighth inning of Wednesday's game and left the field slowly before being officially replaced in the game, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McCutchen, who dealt with a lower-body injury earlier this spring, said he was fine after coming out of the game. He indicated that he slipped on the plate and throttled things back just to be safe. The outfielder finished the game 1 for 4 at the plate.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Monday outfielder Darin Ruf is not a lock to make the Opening Day roster, per The News Journal. Amaro added sending Ruf to Triple-A to play every day is not ideal, but it is possible.

Ruf is batting .220 (11 for 50) with two doubles, two home runs, two RBI, two walks, five runs and 11 strikeouts in 18 spring games.

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson still doesn't know what his role will be when Opening Day rolls around, but he's showing he belongs on the roster, reports MLB.com.

"There's always stuff I need to work on, and I need to continue to impress," Pederson said after launching his fifth home run of the spring Saturday, boosting his batting average to .373.

Manager Don Mattingly remains quiet on what he will do when the decision has to be made, but Pederson is doing what he can to impress.

"[Opening Day] is out of my control," Pederson said. "It's something you dream about as a kid, playing in the big leagues, and you do anything you can to make that dream come true."

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper remained in the game after slipping on the warning track while fielding a ball on Saturday, according to masnsports.com.

The same report stated that Harper was flexing his right hand after bracing his fall while tracking down a ball. Manager Matt Williams said that Harper is fine.

Harper, 22, is hitting .233 this spring with two homers and nine strikeouts.