MLB Player News

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter hit just eight home runs with a .375 slugging percentage during the 2014 regular season, but had a much better power swing in the postseason, belting four home runs and slugging .722 in nine games.

“I took a more of an aggressive approach in the postseason,” Carpenter said, per STLBaseballWeekly.com. “Part of that was from the experience that I had gathered the year before. After a long season, going into the playoffs I felt like I wasn’t as prepared as I felt like I could’ve been. It kind of snowballed and my approach and the way I took the regular season at-bat in the postseason it wasn’t playing out well.”

Carpenter said his postseason success could have a positive impact on his power numbers in 2015.

"Certainly, I’m always going to be a guy who’s patient at the plate, but that was a good learning experience for me -- being aggressive," he said. "I don’t remember the exact numbers but out of the four home runs I hit, I think three of them were on the first pitch. That’s something typically I don’t do a lot of, and it was a good learning experience.”

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera is not expected to miss much time with his ankle injury, according to the Detroit Free Press. 

Cabrera had ankle surgery to remove bone spurs shortly after the season, and has been recovering during the offseason. He was recently cleared to ditch his walking boot, and will be re-evaluated by team doctors on Feb. 15. General manager Dave Dombrowski told reporters Cabrera shouldn't miss much time due to the injury. "We're hopeful at that point he gets turned loose," Dombrowski said. "If he's not ready for Opening Day, it's going to be very, very close."

The 31-year-old Cabrera hit .313/.371/.524 over 611 at-bats last year. 

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters that outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will hit in the heart of the order this season, per the Detroit Free-Press.

Cespedes, 29, was acquired in a December trade with Boston. He batted cleanup in 235 of his 416 career games in the majors. 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 president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that if Miguel Cabrera is unable to play when the season opens, the team will look to Alex Avila as a possible short-term replacement at first base, per MLB.com.

"If he's not ready by opening day, it's gonna be very, very close. We'll know more Feb. 15," Dombrowski said.

Cabrera underwent right ankle surgery to remove bone spurs and to repair a stress fracture in a bone at the top of his foot on Oct. 22. He was cleared to remove his walking boot earlier in January and is expected to be reexamined on Feb. 15, right before Detroit's first full-squad workouts.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley told reporters on Thursday that he changed his offseason workouts in order to be fully ready for full-squad reporting day on Feb. 22, reports the Akron Beacon Journal.

Brantley was named to the All-Star team for the first time, and finished third in MVP voting last season. He slashed .327/.385/.506 with 20 homers and 97 RBI over 611 at-bats.

"I have never trained this hard in my life so I can't wait to see how it works out this year," Brantley said. "I was working out five-six days a week, three hours a day. I have an itch to start this year and [I’m] excited about it.

"I revamped everything. I feel like I can get better and stronger. I've been working on base-stealing."

Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who was acquired in a December trade with Boston, said he has yet to speak with the team about a long-term deal, but he is open to staying with Detroit past this season. He is entering the final year of his contract.

"Now that I'm here, that's an option," he said, per MLive.com. "But I'm just here to perform and play the best I can with this team."

Another big question lingering is where Cespedes will bat in Detroit's loaded lineup. However, it is a topic manager Brad Ausmus didn't want to get into quite yet.

"I'm not going to get into (that) now -- I haven't even talked to him," Ausmus said. "But he's going to be someone who is a big part of this offense."

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said Thursday there "is no favorite" between Chris Taylor and Brad Miller, who will compete this spring to become Seattle's starting shortstop.

Manager Lloyd McClendon shared similar sentiments Thursday.

"We had two young men who performed well in spurts," McClendon said. "They’ll be given the opportunity to battle [this spring]."

While the Rockies have fielded calls for outfielder Charlie Blackmon, the team “is not initiating trade talks," a major-league source told The Denver Post.

Blackmon made his first All-Star team in 2014. He hit .288 with three triples, 19 home runs, 27 doubles, 72 RBI, 82 runs and 28 stolen bases in 154 games.

Rockies have included outfielder Charlie Blackmon in trade talks with multiple teams in hopes of adding pitching depth, reports FOX Sports on Saturday. 

According to the report, the Rockies are having trouble attracting pitchers to pitch at Coors Field, which explains why they haven't signed a pitcher this offseason. The Mets could be a match since they're looking to unload Dillon Gee, but they would have to offer more than just Gee in order to complete the trade.

Blackmon made the All-Star team for the first time in his career last year. The 28-year-old hit .288/.335/.440 with 19 home runs and 72 RBI in 648 plate appearances in 2014. He's not arbitration eligible until 2016.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has filed for $4.5 million in arbitration while outfielder Gregor Blanco has filed for $4 million, 16 WAPT Sports reports.

The team has offered Belt $3 million and Blanco $3.3 million. Belt is in his first year of arbitration eligibility while Blanco is eligible for arbitration for a second year.