MLB Player News

After going 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts on opening day, Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus had a much better showing Tuesday night against the Astros. He went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Andrus also walked once in the 7-0 win.

The 24-year-old tripled in the fifth inning before singling in the seventh. In the ninth, he drove in Ian Kinsler with another three-bagger.

Elvis Andrus and the Rangers have agreed on an eight-year, $120 million contract extension, CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman comfirmed early Monday. The deal means the team now has a total of $131 million committed to the shortstop over the next 10 years.

Andrus would have been a free agent at the end of the 2014 season.

The team is now stacked with middle infield options, with Ian Kinsler at second base and top shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar in the minors.

The team could move Kinsler to first base next season -- or somewhere else -- making room for the highly touted Profar, Heyman suggested. But the team has not announced such a plan.

Shortly after the Rangers' 8-2 loss to the Astros on opening day, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reported Texas and shortstop Elvis Andrus were close to finalizing an eight-year contract worth $120 million.

Andrus went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts in the season opener.

Andrus, 24, batted .404 (21 for 52) in 19 Cactus League games with two homers, nine RBI and three stolen bases.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve enjoyed a solid performance in Sunday's opener against the Rangers.

Altuve, who hit .290 and stole 33 bases last season, led off the game with a single in the first inning. He singled in a run in the fifth inning as he finished 2 for 4 with an RBI in an 8-2 victory.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham will begin the season as the No. 9 hitter for manager Robin Ventura, reports ESPN. 

Beckham is batting ninth to open the season against the Royals Monday. The 26-year-old Beckham hit .310 this spring with three home runs and 12 RBI over 71 at-bats. He had a solid spring and will look to build on his 2012 in which he hit .234 with 16 homers and 60 RBI. 

Jose Altuve batting leadoff for the Astros doesn't have me as jazzed as I thought it would.

For starters, his splits last year were better when he batted second (.711 OPS as No. 1 vs. .776 OPS as No. 2). Sure, he stole bases at a more imperssive rate as the leadoff hitter, but Altuve hit double-digit home runs in his last two years in the minors, as he was developing some nice power to complement the steals. It's not like leadoff hitters don't hit for power, but Altuve batting second would have fostered that power a little more than having him hit first. 

It's nitpicking because he'll probably score more runs from the leadoff spot and will get the steals, but Altuve may surprise some people with his power potential if put in the right scenario. I'd still expect him to have a brush with 10-12 homers, but it would have been nice to see what he could have done from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. 

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus doubled and homered against the Reds Saturday to extend his spring hitting streak to 13 games and boost his average to .415. The home run was the second in 45 plate appearances for Andrus, who only hit three home runs in 711 plate appearances last year.

The Royals optioned infielder Johnny Giavotella to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday, reports MLB.com.

Giavotella, who was hitting .267 on the spring with a homer, 11 RBI and eight strikeouts, was battling for the second base job but appears he's lost out to Chris Getz.

The Texas Rangers further pared down their roster Saturday, moving pitchers Ben Rowen and Lisalverto Bonilla and outfielder Yangervis Solarte to their minor-league camp. Texas also released catcher Konrad Schmidt after he failed to land a backup position.

Astros manager Bo Porter announced Wednesday that second baseman Jose Altuve will be the team's leadoff hitter. Porter said he chose Altuve as the every-day leadoff hitter after no one else took the "bull by the horns."

Porter added that Altuve is the only position player locked into a spot in the lineup. All other spots in the batting order will likely change.