MLB Player News

Abreu went 3-for-6 with two RBI and two runs in Wednesday's loss to the Athletics.

Abreu legged out his third double of the year, part of his 2-for-3 showing with runners in scoring position in this one. The 31-year-old is languishing in the middle of a White Sox lineup that won't always put up many runs, but he's both driven in and scored nine already this season to go along with a .274 average.

Olson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in an 8-1 win over the White Sox on Monday.

His 407-foot shot to right center in the fourth opened the scoring on the night and also marked the only time Olson put the ball in play. The young slugger struck out in his other three at-bats, continuing a troubling trend that's been an overriding theme in the early going. Factoring in Monday's trio of whiffs, Olson is sporting a mammoth 39.1 percent strikeout rate over his first 69 plate appearances. While that figure will undoubtedly get whittled down over time, he generated a 27.8 percent figure over 216 plate appearances in his rookie 2017 campaign. His bat-to-ball is still very much a work in progress.

Cron went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in an 8-4 win over the Rangers on Monday.

Cron squared up on a fourth-inning Martin Perez offering and blasted a 401-foot shot to center, his second round tripper of the season. The 28-year-old now sports a six-game hitting streak, during which he's generated four of his six RBI on the season.

Abreu went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 8-1 loss to the Athletics. He's hit safely in three of the last four games, going 4-for-16 with two homers, a double and four RBI.

Abreu provided the lone support Monday for starter Reynaldo Lopez, who held Oakland to two runs over six innings. That's typically enough for a win, but not with this lineup, which ranks 21st in runs per game.

Guerrero was named the Eastern League Player of the Week on Monday.

The 19-year-old is on a tear to start his first season at the Double-A level. Through nine games, he's hitting .361/.419/.639 with a pair of homers. He has more walks (five) than strikeouts (four), just as he did at both of his minor-league stops last season. If his hot start continues, he could be up at Triple-A before long, with an outside shot at a promotion to the big leagues at some point later this season.

Calhoun is out of Sunday's lineup against the Royals, 610 Sports Radio Kansas City reports.

Southpaw Eric Skoglund is starting for the Royals, so Calhoun will start the game on the bench. The righty hitting Chris Young will start in right field and hit eighth.

Gurriel went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to Texas.

Gurriel, who was playing in his second game since being activated off the disabled list, swatted his first long ball of the season. In both games, he's hit in the fifth spot of the batting order, probably the best spot in terms of knocking in runs. That was evident Saturday as Gurriel's home run plated Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa ahead of him.

Cron went 2-for-4 with a run in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Friday.

Cron boosted his average up over the Mendoza Line with his first multihit effort of the season. The 28-year-old has hit safely in seven of his nine April contests -- including each of the last three -- but a 31.9 percent strikeout rate in the early going is still helping keep his average well below acceptable levels.

Gurriel started at first base and went 1-for-4 in Friday's 3-2 win over the Rangers.

Gurriel returned to the active roster Friday after spending the first two weeks of the season on the disabled list with a hand injury. Manager A.J. Hinch said he doesn't plan to limit Gurriel's time, presuming he shows no signs of trouble with his surgically repaired left hand. Gurriel will play some third base at times this season and will hopefully improve his line against left-handers, against who he managed a .695 OPS in 2017.

Manager Buck Showalter said that Mountcastle (hand) is progressing well but has yet to resume hitting, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mountcastle is able to do everything else at this point, but he will likely need a few more weeks before returning to the field at the Double-A level. When the 21-year-old went down with a broken hand in mid-March, the initial timetable was four-to-six weeks, so he's currently right at the beginning of that projection. Expect to see him begin hitting in the next week or so as he gears up for a return in mid-May.