MLB Player News

Carter is batting cleanup and starting at first base for Saturday's game against Baltimore, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

It will mark Carter's first career start as a Yankee after being acquired by the team during the offseason. The slugger compiled 41 home runs and 94 RBI over 160 games with Milwaukee last season, but will need to improve his batting average if if he is to see more regular playing time. Greg Bird will get the day off.

Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a double in a 5-1 win over the Mariners on Friday.

Calhoun's power to all fields was on display in this one, as he launched a ground-rule double to left in his first at-bat before his two-run homer to center in the seventh inning put the game out of reach. His .348 on-base percentage last season was a career high, and despite seeing his home runs drop off from 2015, his slugging percentage rose due to his 35 doubles, which were also a personal best. Calhoun is off to a great start to 2017 and carries a 1.008 OPS through five games.

Rodriguez (ankle) went 2-for-6 with a solo home run and two strikeouts in the first game of the year for Triple-A Columbus.

He suffered a sprained ankle while in big-league camp this spring, but the injury did not cost him any time in the minor-league regular season. It's hard to envision Rodrigurez carving out an everyday role in the big leagues, considering he hits right-handed, offers little defensive value at first base and posted strikeout rates north of 32 percent in two stops at Double-A, but he could profile as a lefty masher off the bench.

Diaz went 2-for-4 and scored twice in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

In addition to crossing the plate for the second and third times this season, Diaz also struck out for the third consecutive contest. He's off to a decent start while holding down the extra infield spot with Jason Kipnis (shoulder) out, but there may not be enough opportunities to feed Diaz once the former returns.

Cron went 2-for-4 with a run in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the A's.

Cron was back in the lineup Wednesday after getting the night off Tuesday with southpaw Sean Manaea on the mound. The 27-year-old first baseman scored the first run of the game for the Angels when he came home on a second-inning Andrelton Simmons double, and he's now reached safely in four of his eight 2017 plate appearances. Cron should have plenty of RBI opportunities this season if he can stay healthy, considering he'll usually follow the potent trio of Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the order. He amassed career highs in doubles (25), triples (2), RBI (69) and batting average (.278) last season while matching a personal-best 16 home runs.

Calhoun went 3-for-5 with a run in Wednesday's 5-0 victory over the A's.

Calhoun was a table-setter out of the No. 2 hole and initiated Jharel Cotton's fifth-inning exit with the first of three consecutive singles by the Angels. The 29-year-old outfielder eventually came around to score on an Albert Pujols single for the final run of the night, and he's opened the 2017 season by hitting safely and scoring in each of the first three games.

Manager Terry Francona said Santana will start in the outfield against the Diamondbacks over the weekend, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

With the Indians headed to Arizona over the weekend, where there will be no DH available, manager Terry Francona is going to experiment with Santana in the outfield in an attempt to put forth his top offensive lineup. Santana has only played one game in the outfield in his eight major-league seasons, though he saw time in left field during spring training. His performance in the outfield will be something to monitor moving forward now that he is competing for playing time with Edwin Encarnacion at first base in NL ballparks.

O'Hearn has been promoted and will begin the 2017 season at Triple-A Omaha, MLB.com's Jim Callis reports.

Hands down, O'Hearn is the best power-hitting prospect in the Royals' organization. The first baseman has hammered an average of 21 home runs per season in the minors since 2014. O'Hearn owns an impressive .288/.366/.501 slash line over 325 games at the lower levels, but his 29 percent strikeout rate is an obvious hindrance.

Abreu won't play Wednesday after the scheduled White Sox-Tigers game was postponed due to rain, MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports.

With rain descending on Chicago again Wednesday, the White Sox and Tigers will have a game postponed for the second time in the series. Wednesday's game will be made up as part of a straight doubleheader May 26. The two teams are on track to play Thursday at 2:10 p.m ET in the series finale.

Santana went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two RBI and a walk in Tuesday's game against Texas.

The first baseman started the party by leading off the game with a blast to right field, his first long ball of the year. Rangers starter Martin Perez made the mistake of throwing Santana the same pitch (94 mph fastball) throughout the at-bat, and the slugger made him pay on the fourth delivery. The switch-hitter is now 4-for-8 with nine total bases through the season's first two games.