MLB Player News

Cron went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk in Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Red Sox.

Although he managed to slug a home run, Cron has struggled so far this season, as he entered Sunday's game with a dismal .167 batting average. Although most of Cron's starts this year have been as designated hitter, he will likely be in line to receive reps at first base with Brad Miller (groin) landing on the disabled list.

Olson went 1-for-3 with an RBI single, a walk and a run in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Angels.

The second-year slugger has picked it up since the calendar flipped to April, despite the fact that he's keeping nowhere near the torrid home-run pace he generated in his eye-popping rookie campaign. Olson has hit safely in five of the last six games, churning out multi-hit tallies in three of those outings. He's also driven in a run in three of the past four contests, but his pair of round trippers remain his only extra-base hits over his first 42 plate appearances of 2018.

Cron will serve as the Rays' designated hitter and bat cleanup Sunday against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's not surprising that the Rays will leverage the platoon advantage and insert the righty-hitting Cron into their lineup with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez starting for Boston, but it appears manager Kevin Cash may be growing comfortable with deploying Cron as an everyday player. The 28-year-old is picking up his fifth consecutive start Sunday, with two turns against right-handed pitching included among that stretch.

Gurriel (hand) played seven innings in the field during Thursday's game with Double-A Corpus Christi and will serve as the team's DH on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel continues to work his way back from a hand injury and remains on track to return to the major-league club in a week. Upon his arrival, it's expected that Gurriel will be utilized as the Astros' primary first baseman after playing 139 games -- slashing .299/.332/.486 with 18 home runs and 75 RBI -- last season.

Olson went 0-for-4 and left six runners on base while striking out once in Thursday's loss to the Rangers.

Olson left three runners stranded in scoring position, as he was unable to record a hit for the first time in the last four games. He also struck out once, and this small sample size (10 strikeouts in 29 at-bats) suggests he hasn't improved much on his 27.8 percent strikeout rate from a year ago. Should he continuously fail to drive runs in, Olson could find himself in jeopardy of being moved down in the batting order, especially with Matt Chapman (.400/.455/.633 in 30 at-bats) on a tear to begin the year.

Cron went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Yankees.

Cron opened the scoring with his first-inning two-bagger that plated Kevin Kiermaier. The 28-year-old has gotten his Rays career off to a slow start overall, going 3-for-16 with a pair of doubles in the five games he's seen action in. He has hit safely in each of his last three starts, however, potentially a sign that he's beginning to come around.

Abreu went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Abreu's eighth-inning homer proved to be the game-deciding hit, and he heads back for Thursday's home opener hitting .400 (8-for-20) with two homers and three RBI while reaching base safely in each of the White Sox's first five games.

Abreu went 3-for-4 with a double in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, Abreu wasn't presented with any opportunities with men on base, nor were his teammates adept with men on base, so his three hits were largely wasted. He has two multi-hit games over the first three games and has reached base safely in all three.

Gurriel (hand) will begin a rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros placed Gurriel on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday after he'd served a five-game suspension. He progressed more quickly than expected from a hand injury and experienced no setbacks after a couple of batting-practice sessions. The earliest Gurriel can return is April 13.

Gurriel (suspension) will be put on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports.

The Astros have decided to place Gurriel on the DL before allowing him to return to the big leagues. This move puts him on track to return April 13 against the Rangers. Gurriel is expected to complete a minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi in the meantime.