MLB Player News

Cespedes was removed from the Mets' lineup for Tuesday's game against the Astros, Tim Britton of The Athletic New York reports.

No reason for the scratch has been given, and there haven't been any reports that Cespedes is injured in the past few days. He had been battling minor shoulder soreness earlier in camp, but has been back in the lineup since the start of March.

Stanton appears to be the Yankees' preferred choice at cleanup hitter, as he has primarily hit fourth this spring while Aaron Judge hits second and Greg Bird hits third.

When Bird has been out of the lineup, Stanton has moved up to the three hole with Gary Sanchez hitting cleanup, but Bird figures to start most games, particularly against righties, so Stanton's primary spot will likely be the four hole. He is hitting .333/.391/.667 with one home run, four strikeouts and one walk in 21 at-bats this spring. The only question with Stanton is how many games he will play, as he should provide elite counting stat production when healthy.

Carpenter (back) made three plate appearances in an intrasquad game Sunday and said he felt "perfect" afterward, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter grounded out, fouled out and drew a walk during his three turns at the plate and relayed that he experienced no discomfort with his back while rounding second base at one point during the game. The 32-year-old's next activity will come Tuesday against the Marlins, when he's slated to serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter in what will mark his Grapefruit League debut. If all goes well in that contest, Carpenter could return to the field later in the week, which would also serve as a good litmus test for the health of the right shoulder that often plagued him last season. Per Hummel, Cardinals infield coach Jose Oquendo has encouraged Carpenter to adjust his throwing motion when playing third base to make the veteran less susceptible to injury. If Carpenter is receptive to the change and his throwing checks out fine in the spring, he would likely see most of his action at the hot corner when the season starts, thereby opening up more at-bats at first base for Jose Martinez and Luke Voit.

Cespedes has been hitting in the No. 2 spot in the batting order this spring, Kevin Kernan of The New York Post reports.

The right-handed slugger has typically hit in the heart of the order, but new manager Mickey Callaway wants to get more on-base ability at the top of his lineup -- and Cespedes, who's posted a .350 OBP in 270 career games for the Mets, fits the bill. The move would get him a handful of extra plate appearances over the course of the season and trade a few RBI opportunities for runs, but the biggest key to his fantasy value will be simply staying healthy. The 32-year-old has already dealt with some shoulder soreness this spring, but it doesn't seem to be affecting him at the plate as he's launched three home runs in eight Grapefruit League games.

Jimenez had a home run and a triple in Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

After being slowed by a knee injury over the first few weeks of spring, Jimenez made a big splash over the weekend. He homered as a pinch-hitter Saturday, then followed up with two extra-base hits and a walk Sunday. While it looks like Jimenez is ready for the majors, the highly regarded prospect is expected to open the season at Double-A Birmingham.

Cabrera will hit third in the Tigers' starting lineup this season, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

During the 2017 season, Cabrera started 78 games hitting from the third spot in the order and 50 hitting cleanup, and he'll at least start out from No. 3 this coming year. The 34-year-old saw his performance at the plate take a steep decline last year, as he hit .249/.329/.399 over 130 games, marking the first season since 2008 that his batting average fell below .300.

Buxton is 7-for-22 (.318) with a home run and three stolen bases through nine spring training games.

Fresh off his breakout campaign in which he popped 16 homers and stole 29 bases while providing elite defense in center field, Buxton appears to be carrying over his strong performance into 2018. Though spring training results aren't necessarily indicative of regular-season success, it is nice to see the streaky hitter getting off to a productive start. If Buxton can translate his 2017 second-half performance into a full 2018 campaign, he'll entrench himself as one of the premier fantasy outfielders.

Jimenez (knee) entered Saturday's game as a pinch hitter and hit an opposite-field, two-run home run.

Jimenez has been slowed by a knee injury this spring but had been improving over the week. The White Sox announced he was slated to start Sunday, but he'd been badgering manager Rick Renteria to play, so the manager relented and allowed him to pinch hit a day earlier.

Solak was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, J. Scott Butherus of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old infielder went hitless in 18 spring at-bats, so his first exposure to major-league arms was far from smooth. Solak is likely to start the season at Double-A Montgomery after slashing .286/.344/.429 with nine doubles, a triple, two home runs and nine RBI in 132 plate appearances with Double-A Trenton in the Yankees organization in 2017.

Carpenter (back) said Saturday he intends to make his spring debut for the Cardinals on Tuesday against the Marlins, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter has been dealing with back soreness since early February and indicated the plan is to serve as the team's designated hitter Tuesday. The 32-year-old remains optimistic he can be available for Opening Day, which is a realistic goal should he be able to avoid any setbacks.