MLB Player News

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman bounced back from a hitless debut in a big way Tuesday socking two home runs to lead the team to a 5-2 win over the Brewers.

Freeman reached base four times, after going 0 for 4 in the opener. He hit a pair of solo home runs, in the sixth and eighth innings, and added a single as he finished the game 3 for 3 with two runs and two RBI.

Freeman signed a massive extension this offseason, and is off to a good start in his attempt to live up to it.

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg made some changes to his lineup Tuesday against the Rangers with left-handed starter Martin Perez on the hill, which included moving slugger Ryan Howard to the fifth spot in the lineup. It's the first time he hasn't hit cleanup since June 29, 2008, per MLB.com.

Howard has hit .276 with a .625 slugging percentage, .980 OPS, 11 doubles, 26 home runs and 65 RBI in 70 career games batting fifth.

The Mets announced Tuesday infielder Wilmer Flores and reliever Kyle Farnsworth will be in New York Wednesday. Both players could be recalled from the minors with second baseman Daniel Murphy on a paternity leave and closer Bobby Parnell sidelined due to an elbow injury.

Marlins third baseman Ed Lucas had a bittersweet day Thursday, but the bitter outweighed the sweet.

Hours after being told he made the team, he was hit by a pitch on the left hand. It has since been diagnosed that he sustained a non-displaced fracture.

The injury will result in Donovan Solano, whom Lucas beat out for the job, returning to the major league team and serving in that role, per MLB.com.

The Marlins have dispatched outfielder Jake Marisnick and second baseman Donovan Solano to Triple-A New Orleans and sent shortstops Juan Diaz and Austin Nola, outfielder Matt Angle and pitchers Chris Hatcher and Henry Rodriguez to minor league camp.

The Braves announced Monday they optioned pitcher Ryan Buchter, outfielder Jose Constanza and outfielder Joey Terdoslavich to Triple-A Gwinnett. They also reassigned infielder Tyler Greene and infielder Tommy La Stella to minor-league camp.

The Mets optioned infielder Wilmer Flores to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he will work at shortstop.

"I felt like I played good at short," Flores said of his spring experience, per the New York Daily News. "It took me a game to get comfortable. I was thinking about the position more than just reacting at first. I feel like I got better and I will the more I play there. I will go to Vegas and play some short."

Diamondbacks third baseman Martin Prado is batting cleanup in his team's regular-season opener against the Dodgers in Australia.

Prado made 28 of his 149 starts last season in the No. 4 spot in the order, batting .296/.349/.470 in 115 at-bats from that spot in the lineup. The entire Diamondbacks lineup: CF A.J. Pollock, 2B Aaron Hill, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 3B Prado, LF Mark Trumbo, C Miguel Montero, SS Chris Owings, RF Gerardo Parra, P Wade Miley.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 0 for 3 in his return to the lineup Wednesday as the Braves fell to the Yankees, 7-0.

Freeman left Sunday's game early with a left thumb contusion but just needed a few days of rest to get back on the field. "It seems like I hurt that thing every year," Freeman told MLB.com before Wednesday's game. "So it just swells up easier than normal when I get hit there. It's still swelled up a little bit. But I've already gripped a bat and swung it."

Freeman is 12 for 38 with one home run this spring.

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores made his third spring appearance at shortstop Tuesday, and the experiment is expected to continue, a team source told ESPN. Flores will see ample time at short the remainder of the spring and will also get playing time there in April for Triple-A Las Vegas, as the team searches for viable options at the position.

Barring a roster move, Ruben Tejada is expected to open the season as the Mets' starting shortstop, with Omar Quintanilla expected to be the backup shortstop.