MLB Player News

After seeing the spring A's outfielder Yoenis Cespedes turned in (.295 average, .623 slugging percentage, six HRs, 15 RBI in 22 games), I'm getting more confident in believing this could be the season Cespedes emerges as a top 10 Fantasy outfielder, if he stays healthy.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes homered again in Saturday's exhibition game against the Giants at O.co Coliseum.

Cespedes took Ryan Vogelsong deep in the third inning for a three-run home run. It was his sixth homer in the past 11 games. He was 1 for 4 in the 4-3 victory. The 27-year-old finished spring training with a .295 average, six homers and 15 RBI.

"It looked like it was off the end of the bat," said manager Bob Melvin. "For anybody else, it's probably a medium fly ball to left field. But that shows his strength."

The Astros recalled J.D. Martinez from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday to fill the roster spot vacated by Fernando Martinez's move to the disabled list. Martinez was shipped to the minors last week after hitting .286 with four extra-base hits during 19 games this spring.

The Astros have sent outfielder J.D. Martinez down to Triple-A, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler reports. 

Martinez, 25, struggled mightily in 2012, as he hit just .241/.311/.375 (86 OPS+) after he posted a sharp 104 OPS+ in his rookie year of 2011. The Astros expressed a desire for the outfielder to hit every day. The Astros starting outfield will likely be Chris Carter in left field, Justin Maxwell in center field and Fernando Martinez in right field.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley collected two hits in three at-bats against the Diamondbacks Thursday, including his first home run of the spring, a three-run shot off Ian Kennedy in the first inning.

Brantley hasn't topped seven home runs in a season in his career, so fantasy owners know not to count on power numbers, but he's also hitting .429 after the two-hit performance.

The Cleveland Indians are continuing to discuss contract extensions with outfielder Michael Brantley and infielder Jason Kipnis as of Monday, reports FOX Sports. 

Cleveland has been working with Brantley on an extension since before they signed Michael Bourn. Brantley, who turns 26 in May, is moving from center to left field with Bourn in tow. That means he's likely to make less money than he would have made had the team not picked up Bourn. 

Either way, both Brantley and Kipnis are starters as the infielder projects to open the season as the team's second baseman. Brantley is batting .368 this spring with two RBI and four doubles over 19 at-bats. Meanwhile, Kipnis is hitting just .162 with a homer and three RBI over 37 at-bats, but drove in 76 runs for the Tribe last season. 

Athletics left fielder Yoenis Cespedes contributed to a long day for Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver, hitting his first home run of the spring in the second inning. It was the only hit in three trips to the plate for Cespedes, who is hitting just .194/.324/.323 during the exhibition season.

He'll be looking to avoid the slow start that plagued him during his standout rookie season, when he hit .245/.319/.434 before a May injury sent him to the DL despite homering in three of his first four games.

The Toronto Blue Jays have optioned infielder Ryan Goins to Triple-A Buffalo. He spent all of 2012 at the Double-A level, hitting .289/.342/.403 with seven home runs and 15 SBs in 618 plate appearances.