MLB Player News

Santana will start at first base and man the cleanup spot Saturday against the Twins, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Santana also served as the Tribe's No. 4 hitter in Thursday's season opener and looks poised to remain in that spot at least until both of Jason Kipnis (calf) and Francisco Lindor (calf/ankle) are back from the injured list. The 32-year-old switch hitter has been a paragon of durability throughout his career and owns one of the more bankable power profiles in the game, having finished with no fewer than 18 home runs or 74 RBI in any of the past eight seasons.

Walker hit a three-run homer as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Arizona's 5-4 extra-innings win over the Dodgers on Friday.

The Diamondbacks were lifeless until Walker's bomb tied the game. It was the second homer in as many games for the backup first baseman and raises the issue of whether manager Torey Lovullo will manipulate the lineup to get his bat in there more often. One clear solution is to occasionally move starting first baseman Jake Lamb to third base, his natural position, but Lovullo put an end to that speculation for now, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. "I think we're going to put that idea on hold where we'll move [Lamb] across the diamond," Lovullo said. "We have definitely discussed it. It has come up. And yes, it would be nice to get both of those guys in there. But for the short-term time being, I think we're going to stand pat at first base." The manager said, after Walker's surprising Opening Day start, during which he homered and doubled, that there is not a strict platoon at first base.

Goldschmidt went 4-for-5 with a walk, three home runs and five RBI in Friday's 9-5 win over the Brewers.

The walk was intentional, as Milwaukee gave him a free pass in the ninth inning rather than giving Goldschmidt a chance to tie the major-league record with his fourth homer of the game. The Cards' big offseason acquisition is already paying dividends, and the 31-year-old first baseman is off to a quick start as he looks for his fifth career 30-HR campaign.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a home run Friday against Houston.

Diaz tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning with his first homer of the 2019 campaign and just the second of his big-league career. The 27-year-old will continue to see opportunities at the hot corner until Matt Duffy (hamstring) returns to health.

Flores isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Dodgers.

Flores doubled and scored in Thursday's season opener but will take a seat in favor of Ketel Marte for the second game of 2019. Flores is expected to see plenty of time at the keystone this year, although the Diamondbacks have elected to shake up their lineup on opening weekend.

Tellez is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Tigers.

Tellez started at designated hitter in Thursday's season opener and went 0-for-2 with one walk and one strikeout. Randal Grichuk will serve as the designated hitter Friday with Billy McKinney starting in right field, pushing Tellez to the bench. The 23-year-old has a clearer path to at-bats following the trade of Kendrys Morales, but he still seems unlikely to be used in an everyday role right out of the gate.

Shaw will open the season at Double-A Richmond, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

It was assumed when Shaw was optioned in mid-March that Triple-A Sacramento would be his destination, as he spent the bulk of the last two seasons at that level and hadn't played at Double-A since 2017. There's no immediate apparent reason why he'd be demoted one extra level, but this likely doesn't change his timeline for returning to the big leagues, as the Giants could easily call him up straight from Double-A should they decide he's ready to go.

Guerrero (oblique) is expected to play in games at extended spring training this weekend, and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said Thursday the prospect is on an "accelerated time frame," Tom Ruminski of thescore.ca reports.

"We just need to get him healthy first and need to address the other things that we mentioned at the outset of spring training, perhaps the things that led to that injury. You know, ensuring that his routines are major-league caliber and ensuring that he has the proper foundation under him when he comes up here," Shapiro said. "We've said all along, he's on an expedited time frame ... we are not holding him back, we're speeding him up." That still doesn't answer the question of exactly when Guerrero will make his MLB debut, but it's looking more and more like the spring oblique injury won't change his original timetable for promotion all that much.

Alonso went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in Thursday's win over the Nationals.

Facing Max Scherzer in his debut went about as well as you might expect, but Alonso was able to collect his first big-league hit once the Nats' ace left the game, slapping a single to center field off Justin Miller in the eighth inning. The 24-year-old first baseman is hitting in the two hole for the Mets to begin his career, a spot that gives him the opportunity for significant fantasy value if he can hang onto it.

Goldschmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts in a season-opening loss to the Brewers on Thursday.

Better days are sure to come, but Goldschmidt essentially put up a dud in his Cardinals regular-season debut. The prodigious slugger did look like his usual self during a strong spring (.280 average, three home runs, six RBI), so the Opening Day clunker is naturally nothing to be concerned with over the long term. Goldschmidt will look to break the ice at the plate Friday night against Freddy Peralta in the second installment of a four-game set against the Brewers.