MLB Player News

Cron was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

The day after he bashed a grand slam, the Angels opted to send the 27-year-old back to the minors. Cron seemed to be finding his stroke at the plate again, hitting safely in his past four games to raise his batting average 16 points, but it seems that the team wants him to get more consistent at-bats in the minors. It's unclear how long the Angels plan for him to stay with Salt Lake, but he'll likely need to show off a steady power stroke if he wants to sniff the majors again. Infielder Nolan Fontana was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Tellez worked with Jays legend Carlos Delgado last week on finding a consistent stroke at the plate, John Lott of The Athletic reports.

Devon White, the former Blue Jays star who is now Tellez's hitting coach at Triple-A Buffalo, has also been molding the young first baseman. Both White and Delgado agree that the 22-year-old needs to take advantage of the inner half of the plate. "I think his swing got a little long," White said. "And he wants to use the whole field, but sometimes you can't use the whole field. You have to go with how they're pitching you, and they're pitching him in a lot. So he should be pulling those pitches." Tellez said he was determined to shed his pull-hitter stereotype, but also admitted that strategy has worked against him. "I wanted to use the whole field and that was affecting me," he said. "Now that we've talked and worked on it, it's understanding that if they're pitching me inside consistently, then I've got to know exactly what's going on." In his first season playing at Triple-A, Tellez is hitting .208/.359/.457 through 38 games.

Cron went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Sunday's 12-5 win over the Mets.

The 27-year-old got off the schneid in grand fashion, recording his first home run in his 86th plate appearance of the season. Injuries and a slow start (.232/.281/.305) have diminished his fantasy value, but he's shown an ability to hit for power in the past (.442 career slugging percentage), so there's reason to believe he can turn things around. Cron should get every opportunity to do so over the next couple of weeks while Yunel Escobar (hamstring) recovers on the disabled list.

Calhoun will start in right field and bat sixth Sunday against the Mets, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The lefty-hitting Calhoun is batting just .164 in May, and the Mets are bringing a southpaw to the hill in Tommy Milone, so Angels manager Mike Scioscia decided it was best to drop the slumping outfielder in the order, at least on a temporary basis. Andrelton Simmons will move into the No. 2 spot that Calhoun had previously been occupying.

Gurriel is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Indians.

Hitless in his last three starts, Gurriel will receive a day of rest Sunday as the Astros face off against Danny Salazar and the Indians. Marwin Gonzalez will draw the start at first base in his stead. Expect to see Gurriel back in the lineup Monday against the Tigers.

Cron is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.

Jefry Marte gets the start at first base Saturday with Cron receiving the off day. Cron is hitting just .176/.263/.235 with one extra-base hit over 17 at-bats since returning from the disabled list on May 14.

Carter is not in the Yankees' lineup Saturday against the Rays.

The slugger has gone 1-for-11 with seven strikeouts over the past three games, so manager Joe Girardi will give him a chance to clear his head. Matt Holliday takes over at first base and Aaron Judge serves as the designated hitter for the first time this season.

Nash was promoted to Double-A Birmingham on Friday.

The 26-year-old has been white hot since returning to action with High-A Winston-Salem, posting a 1.330 OPS in seven games with the Dash. However, Nash is much older than many of the others playing at that level, so expectations of his performance with the Barons should be tempered.

Abreu went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 12-8 loss to the Angels.

Abreu's first-inning, two-run homer gave the White Sox an early lead and was his second long ball of the series. He now has a team-high seven homers, all on the road, and they've all come in his last 17 games.

Calhoun is not in the lineup Wednesday against the White Sox.

Calhoun has collected just three hits over the last eight games and struck out 13 times in 30 at-bats over that span, so he'll head to the bench to clear his head Wednesday. Cameron Maybin will slide over to right field for the game, allowing Ben Revere to start in left field.