MLB Player News

Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 3-2 win over Cleveland.

Cabrera started at first base during Thursday's season opener and put the Tigers on the board with the first home run of MLB's 2021 regular season. The 37-year-old served exclusively as the designated hitter in 2020 but expressed a desire to play the field more this year. While Cabrera is unlikely to see extensive time at first base, he could pick up fantasy eligibility there in most leagues around the end of April.

The White Sox placed Jimenez (pectoral) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.

Jimenez is expected to be sidelined for about 4-to-5 months after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a torn left pectoral tendon, so Chicago's decision to place him on the 60-day IL rather than the 10-day IL won't have any bearing on his timeline for making his 2021 debut. The transaction opened up a spot on the 40-man roster for Billy Hamilton, who will begin the season as a reserve outfielder for the White Sox.

Martinez and the Red Sox won't play the Orioles on Thursday after their Opening Day game was postponed due to rain, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The two teams are now scheduled to play their season opener Friday, which was initially set to be an off day for both sides.

Lewis (knee) will begin the season on the 10-day injured list, Lauren Smith of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Lewis missed the end of spring training due to a right knee injury, and he was recently diagnosed with a deep bone bruise. Manager Scott Servais said that the team wants to give Lewis "a couple of weeks" to recover, although the 25-year-old doesn't have any structural damage. Taylor Trammell will start in center field in his absence, while Jake Fraley should also see additional playing time for Seattle.

The Rays are hopeful Choi can resume playing in 4-to-5 weeks after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi's procedure was a bit more extensive than the typical knee scope, with Topkin noting that the 29-year-old had loose bodies removed and his meniscus cleaned up as part of the surgery. Tampa Bay is optimistic that the scope will provide a permanent fix for Choi's persistent knee issues, which had been plaguing him since the beginning of camp in late February. With Choi likely out of commission until early-to-mid May, the Rays are likely to use a platoon of Yoshi Tsutsugo and Yandy Diaz at first base.

Harper finished with a .343/.477/.771 slash line to go with four home runs across 35 at-bats during Grapefruit League play.

Harper typically hit in the No. 3 spot throughout the spring, and he should slot in behind Andrew McCutchen and J.T. Realmuto or Rhys Hoskins in the batting order when Philadelphia opens its season Thursday against Atlanta lefty Max Fried. Even by Harper's lofty standards, he turned in an outstanding 2020 season that somewhat slipped under the radar, with a magnificent 20.5 percent walk rate propelling him to a .962 OPS, the third-best mark of his career. The 28-year-old continued to show a discerning eye at the dish this spring, drawing nine walks against 11 strikeouts.

Mercedes will be on the White Sox's Opening Day roster, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The White Sox will carry three nominal catchers to begin the season, though Mercedes' defense is poor enough that he's unlikely to be anything more than a designated hitter. Starts could be available at that spot if the team goes forward with its somewhat unexpected plan of having Andrew Vaughn fill in for the injured Eloy Jimenez (pectoral) in left field, but with fellow bat-first backstop Zack Collins and leading DH candidate Jake Lamb in the fold, at-bats could be hard to come by for Mercedes.

Ohtani (finger) will bat second as the designated hitter Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Ohtani left his Monday start on the mound with a blister, but the fact that he's able to hit just one day later is seemingly a good sign. Pitching presumably places more stress on the blistered finger than hitting does, so he'll still have to get through a bullpen session this week if he's to make his scheduled pitching debut against the White Sox on Sunday.

Jimenez underwent surgery on his ruptured left pectoral tendon Tuesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Jimenez suffered the injury while trying to rob a home run in a Cactus League contest. General manager Rick Hahn confirmed that his timeline to return remains five to six months, contradicting reports from Monday that indicated Jimenez could be back in as little as four months. That timeline means Jimenez won't be back in game action until late August at the earliest. The White Sox expect to update Jimenez's timeline in three months.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Cabrera will start at first base in Thursday's season opener versus Cleveland, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

After being bothered by knee issues early on during the 2019 campaign, Cabrera transitioned from first base to designated hitter in mid-July of that season. Cabrera returned to full health in 2020, but the Tigers still elected to use him exclusively as a designated hitter in an effort to keep him fresh for the entire season. Though that plan worked well, Cabrera expressed a desire this spring to see more work in the field this year, and Hinch seems prepared to honor that request. Woodbery speculates that Cabrera is unlikely to play the field more than once or twice per week, but that still could be enough for him to qualify at first base in many fantasy leagues by the end of April.