MLB Player News

Brad Ausmus is considering using 2014 Tigers surprise J.D. Martinez at designated hitter next season if Victor Martinez flies the coop in free agency.

"It's possible," Ausmus told the Detroit News. "We're certainly hoping something works out with Victor, but we have talked about that, about using J.D. there depending on how things shake out."

Martinez was used primarily in left field this year.

"I don't think you'd have to stick him at DH and never take him out or not use him in the outfield," Ausmus added. "Really, at that age -- Martinez is 27 -- I don't think I'd want to pigeon-hole him at DH."

The Marlins have reached out to outfielder Giancarlo Stanton about a contract extension, and talks are "ongoing," according to the Miami Herald. 

Stanton is under team control through 2016, but the club would like to work out a deal now. Miami hasn't had the best history of signing guys to long-term deals, and there's a sense Stanton will leave if he's allowed to hit free agency. Stanton is coming off the finest season of his career, in which he hit .288/.395/.555 over 539 at-bats with 37 home runs. 

Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told MLB Network Radio that one of the top offseason goals will be signing outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to a contract extension before the winter meetings.

Stanton is considered one of the best hitters in baseball and is set to become a free agent after the 2016 season.  In 2014, Stanton hit. 288 with 37 home runs and 105 RBI in 145 games. 

He missed the last three weeks of the 2014 season after suffering multiple facial fractures and dental damage after being hit in the face by an 88 mph fastball from Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton told reporters Saturday he expects to have a normal offseason, the New York Times reported. Stanton missed the final 17 games of the season after suffering multiple facial fractures and dental damage after being drilled in the face by an 88 mph fastball from Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers.

"It was a long process of just kind of laying around the house, and not being able to leave too much," Stanton said. "But I feel great now, and I'll be back to my normal offseason routine and shouldn't skip a beat."

Tigers first baseman Miguel 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 Wednesday, the team announced on Friday, per MLB.com. Cabrera, who was plagued by the injury throughout the season, batted .313 with 25 homers and 109 RBI over 611 at-bats. Cabrera is expected to be re-evaluated in three months.

The Royals added third baseman Jayson Nix to their World Series roster, replacing infielder Christian Colon. Nix got 83 at-bats during the regular season, batting .120 with a homer and four RBI.

Tigers general manager and president Dave Dombrowski believes the large bone spur in the right ankle of slugger Miguel Cabrera might not require surgery, per MLB.com.

"Is it a possibility? I'd say it is a possibility," Dombrowski said. "I don't know if it's going to happen or not. Sure. There's a spur in there, and people that have looked at him so far tell me that it has to be removed. It's a relatively easy - for them - procedure. But I don't want to draw any conclusions yet, because he's not done with that whole process."

Cabrera performed better down the stretch despite an ankle ailment that plagued him throughout the year. He won American League Player of he Year honors in September by batting .379 with eight home runs and 18 RBI.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday first baseman Miguel Cabrera could undergo ankle surgery in the offseason, per MLB.com. Cabrera was bothered by bone spurs in his right ankle during the second half of the season.

"I'd say [surgery] is a possibility. I don't know if it's going to happen," Dombrowski said. "There's a spur in there, and people tell me if it has to be removed, it is for them a relatively simple procedure."

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double, a home run and two RBI Tuesday but his team couldn't stave off postseason elimination, falling to the Giants 3-2 to end the NLDS on the wrong side of a 3-1 series loss.

Harper went 0 for 7 in the 18-inning Game 2 marathon but has been outstanding otherwise, going 5 for 10 with three home runs and four RBI. He put the Nationals on the board Tuesday with a fifth-inning RBI double then tied the game at 2-2 with a seventh-inning solo home run, but his heroics were not enough to send the series to a fifth game.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt provided the swing that gave his club a 2-0 series lead over the Nationals on Saturday.

Belt, who had just 12 home runs in the regular season, uncorked a solo home run off Tanner Roark to lead off the 18th inning. The long ball proved to be the distance, as he finished 1 for 7 with a run scored and an RBI in a 2-1 Game 2 victory, the longest game in postseason history (6:23). He's gone 5 for 14 with five RBI in three postseason games.