MLB Player News

Cleveland is willing to listen to offers for shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, according to FoxSports.com.

The deal makes sense in the long-term, as shortstop Francisco Lindor is considered one of the best prospects in baseball. Cabrera is coming off a poor season, in which he hit .242/.299/.402 in 508 at-bats. Cabrera's contract is up after this season.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Indians catcher Carlos Santana might play third base during a stint in the Dominican Winter League. Santana played 58 games at third base in the minors and has recently been taking grounders at the position.

It is not known if Santana is getting exposure at third base in order to challenge Lonnie Chisenhall for the starting job or to provide more depth at the position.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels intend to use Kole Calhoun as their starting right fielder heading into the 2014 season. General manager Jerry Dipoto told the Times, "For [Calhoun] to improve, he has to get the opportunity to play, and we see a good opportunity for him on this field."

Calhoun was the Angels' primary right fielder over the last two months of the 2013 season, and he started the last 21 games of the season in right field. In his rookie campaign, Calhoun hit .282 with eight home runs and 32 RBI.

With former catcher Joe Mauer now locked in as the Twins' starting first baseman in 2014, Chris Colabello will have to find some other way into the lineup. He played 11 games in right field last season, but to help compensate for his lack of experience at the position, he has been working with strength coach Austin Wasserman to improve his flexibility and mobility, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

"Joe moving to first probably isn't the best thing for my opportunity to start the year as the opening day first baseman," Colabello said. "If anything, it's just a little bit more motivation for me to improve other things."

He has also worked to shorten and simplify his swing this offseason after hitting .194 with seven home runs and a .631 OPS in 160 at-bats in the majors. The 30-year-old hit .352 with 24 homers and a 1.066 OPS in 338 at-bats in the minors.

"As it got to toward the end of the season, in August and September, I felt like my swing was not the same as it was in March and April," Colabello said. "Whether that was a product of the way I was being pitched in Triple-A or the big leagues or being a little run down, I'm not sure."

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun hit his eighth home run in Sunday's loss to Seattle.

Calhoun finished 1 for 4 with the solo blast, a walk and a strikeout. Calhoun has taken advantage of the Angels myriad injuries to earn a starting spot. He's hitting a robust .287/.351/.480.

Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hit his 14th home run in Sunday's victory over the White Sox.

Cabrera finished 1 for 4 with the three-run blast. He's hitting just .235/.292/.400 in a disappointing down year.

The Angels have spent the last few years filling out their lineup with high-priced free agents, but the way Kole Calhoun has performed to close out 2013 might have them rethinking that strategy.

A minor-league standout since the Angels drafted him in the eighth round in 2010, he's done his best to show he's not just a product of the heavy-hitting California and Pacific Coast leagues, batting .412 (14 for 34) with two homers in his last 10 games. The recent surge has earned him at-bats against left-handed pitchers and given Fantsay owners reason to believe he's more than just a Quadruple-A player (when his batting average dropped to .215 in mid-August, it was looking iffy, especially given his lack of pedigree).

As things stand now, he won't have a place to play when Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Peter Bourjos return from their injuries next season, but maybe Calhoun gives the Angels trade bait. Or maybe he compels them to deal Bourjos finally after toying with the idea the last few offseasons.

If a spot opens for Calhoun somewhere in the majors, I'm thinking he'll be one of my favorite sleepers come draft season. You know I like those high-OBP types.

Astros first baseman Chris Carter stole his second base of the season Wednesday during a game against the Twins. Carter added two hits in the game.

Carter went 2 for 3 for Houtson with two singles and a run scored. He added a walk as he reached base three times for the Astros.

The 26-year-old homered in his last game Tuesday and has hit in three straight for Houston. He's up to 27 home runs on the season to go with 73 runs batted in.

Twins first baseman Chris Colabello was the hero on Monday afternoon in Houston. Colabello hit his second home run of the game in the ninth inning off Chia-Jen Lo for a grand slam, the first of his career.

Colabello, who homered twice and has six on the year, drove in five runs in total on the afternoon as his grand slam gave the Twins the 10-6 victory.

Colabello finished 2 for 5 in the game and is batting just .193 on the season over 114 at-bats. That said, he's gone 3 for 9 in his last two contests and is showing plenty of signs of life after his first two-homer game.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana had an RBI single and two-run homer during Saturday's game at Detroit. Santana has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games, batting .308 (16 for 52) with three doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI.