MLB Player News

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper slugged two solo home runs in his first two at-bats during Washington's 2-0 season-opening win over Miami on Monday. Harper, who served as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup for his first career opening day, finished 2 for 4 to finish as the lone player in the game to finish with multiple hits.

According to ESPN, he also became just the third player since 1920 with two homers on opening day when his team scored only two runs; the other two occasions came in losses.

Bryce Harper has gotten his sophomore season with the Nationals off to a dramatic start, homering in his first two at-bats against the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco. I projected Harper for a total of 26 home runs this year, expecting that he may not be able to exceed the 13 percent home run-to-flyball (HR/FB) ratio that he put up as a rookie.

Then again, Harper hasn't been much of a flyball hitter throughout his brief professional career, and last year, his flyball rate was just 33 percent. Even if he can't raise an already impressive HR/FB ratio, Harper can exceed 30 homers just by hitting the ball in the air more frequently. There is certainly room for him to exceed what could have been a conservative estimate.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera hit .413 with a .652 slugging percentage during the spring a year ago and went on to win the first Triple Crown since 1967. While he was not as productive this camp, the 29-year-old still got plenty of work in heading into the regular season and appears primed to defend his AL MVP award.

Cabrera batted .309 with four homers and 16 RBI in 55 Grapefruit League at-bats. He also slugged .618.

The Mariners reassigned Endy Chavez, Danny Farquhar, Brad Miller and Jesus Sucre to minor-league camp on Sunday.

After bashing a staggering two home runs last season with Philadelphia -- the same total as three pitchers in the National League -- it seems the most logical place in the lineup for revered slugger Placido Polanco is the cleanup spot. Or so his new team believes.

The Marlins announced Sunday they will start the season with Polanco in the noted run-producing spot while Giancarlo Stanton, who matched Polanco's homer total in two separate games last year, takes the No. 3 position. Perhaps the Marlins are playing it strictly by the numbers -- Polanco does have 103 career homers compared to Stanton's mere 93. There's only one key difference: Stanton has accomplished his total in 1,436 fewer regular-season games than Polanco.

Ultimately, Stanton's spot in the lineup won't matter as he's actually gone deep more from the three-hole (14) than the cleanup spot (12) in his brief career despite receiving fewer at-bats as the third hitter. When Albert Pujols led the NL with 42 homers during the 2010 season, all of them came from the No. 3 spot.

Throughout all the sarcasm, one thing remains clear: Stanton will continue to rake as he is easily the leading candidate to pace the league in home runs this season for the first time in his blooming career.

After seeing the spring A's outfielder Yoenis Cespedes turned in (.295 average, .623 slugging percentage, six HRs, 15 RBI in 22 games), I'm getting more confident in believing this could be the season Cespedes emerges as a top 10 Fantasy outfielder, if he stays healthy.

Continuing the renewed optimism surrounding their previously injured players, Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday that second baseman Justin Turner could be available for the season opener, ESPN.com reports. Turner suffered a strained left calf last Wednesday and did not appear in another game the rest of the exhibition season.

Starting infielders David Wright and Daniel Murphy, both of whom dealt with an intercostal injury this spring, are expected to play Monday against San Diego.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes homered again in Saturday's exhibition game against the Giants at O.co Coliseum.

Cespedes took Ryan Vogelsong deep in the third inning for a three-run home run. It was his sixth homer in the past 11 games. He was 1 for 4 in the 4-3 victory. The 27-year-old finished spring training with a .295 average, six homers and 15 RBI.

"It looked like it was off the end of the bat," said manager Bob Melvin. "For anybody else, it's probably a medium fly ball to left field. But that shows his strength."

The Mets will decide Sunday whether second baseman Justin Turner will begin the season on the 25-man roster or the disabled list. He's recovering from a strained left calf.

Turner's status will dictate whether infielder Zach Lutz will open the season with the Mets or in the minors.

The Astros recalled J.D. Martinez from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday to fill the roster spot vacated by Fernando Martinez's move to the disabled list. Martinez was shipped to the minors last week after hitting .286 with four extra-base hits during 19 games this spring.