MLB Player News

Twins first baseman Chris Colabello recent success continued on Sunday, as he plated four runs in a 10-7 win over the Indians in Cleveland.

Colabello drove in a run on a fielder's choice in the third, singled in another run in the fourth and ripped a bases-clearing double in the sixth. He finished 2 for 5 with a run scored and four RBI. He has gone 6-for-18 with three doubles, one home run, four runs scored and 11 RBI over his last four games played.

Angels left-handed batters Kole Calhoun and Raul Ibanez are set to sit Saturday against Astros southpaw Dallas Keuchel.

Collin Cowgill will replace Calhoun in the leadoff spot.

Angels outfield and leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun did not join the party in an offensive onslaught against Houston on Friday night until the seventh inning. But when he did, he did it in style. He slugged a two-run homer to give his team an 11-1 lead.

The blast ended a personal slump, but his 1-for-6 performance against the Astros maintained his batting average of .167.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu gave a glimpse of what he is capable of Thursday, as he drove in four runs in a game the White Sox would go on to lose, 10-9.

Abreu went 2 for 4 with two extra-base hits, an RBI double in the fifth inning following by a three-run triple in the sixth. He scored once and had two of the team's three hits with runners in scoring position in the loss.

Abreu has yet to homer in three games, but three of his five hits are for extra bases so far. He is hitting .417 with just one strikeout in his first 12 major-league at-bats. 

Twins first baseman Chris Colabello put together another strong performance on Thursday, driving six runs in a 10-9 win over the White Sox in Chicago.

Colabello, who batted cleanup, lined a bases-clearing double in the third inning and cranked two-run double in the fifth inning. He also scored a run on a ground out in the seventh inning. He finished 2 for 5 with six RBI. He has five hits over his first 10 at-bats, three of them have been doubles.

Shifts in the Twins lineup have placed first baseman Chris Colabello in the cleanup spot Thursday against White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana.

The new lineup that elevated Joe Mauer to the second spot and Josh Willingham third allowed Colabello to bat fourth. Colabello, who has played only against southpaws, is off to a strong start in 2014 with three hits in five at-bats.

The Indians have bounced shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera from seventh in the batting order in the opener to leadoff in the second game of the regular season Wednesday in Oakland.

Terry Francona was encouraged by his performance this spring as Cabrera seeks to recover from a miserable year at the plate in 2013. Cabrera will likely continue to hit at that spot against left-handers such as Wednesday starter Scott Kazmir until Michael Bourn (hamstring) returns to the lineup.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is in the leadoff spot for Tuesday's game against Oakland's lefty starter Scott Kazmir.

Cabrera went 1 for 3 with one walk and one run while batting seventh in Monday's season opener, which came against a right-handed starter. Cabrera shifts to the top of the lineup against the lefty Tuesday. The switch hitter as performed slightly better against southpaws over his career, hitting .286/.338/.424 with 18 home runs in 944 at-bats against lefties. He didn't see one at-bat from the No. 1 spot in the lineup last season.

In the real-world sense, Carlos Santana's move to third base full-time is a big deal. His ability to play a premium position helps him retain some of the value he loses by no longer catching every day.

But for Fantasy owners, it doesn't really change anything. He's still eligible at catcher this year and because he'll back up Yan Gomes at the position, he figures to be eligible there next year as well.

In Fantasy, anybody who's eligible at catcher should play catcher. It's as simple as that. Catchers have to sit more often than any other position players, so their Head-to-Head point production, relative to other positions, is lacking. For you Rotisserie league owners, their run and RBI totals are also lacking. Go compare the numbers. It's plainly evident.

But won't playing third base every day give him more at-bats than the average catcher? Yes, but that's all the more incentive to play him at catcher, where he'll give your team a bigger advantage over the competition.

That's not to say you can't play him at third base in an emergency situation, but slotting him there for the long haul is wasting his value. If nothing else, you should be able to trade him to a team with a need at catcher for an even better third baseman.

The Indians have named Carlos Santana the team's starting third baseman, according to MLB.com.

Santana was competing with Lonnie Chisenhall during camp, but has won the job. Santana will not be used in a platoon with Chisenhall. Instead, he will be the full-time starter. Santana will also serve as the club's backup catcher. 

Santana hit .268/.377/.455 in 541 at-bats last year.