MLB Player News

Cabrera will hit third in the Tigers' starting lineup this season, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

During the 2017 season, Cabrera started 78 games hitting from the third spot in the order and 50 hitting cleanup, and he'll at least start out from No. 3 this coming year. The 34-year-old saw his performance at the plate take a steep decline last year, as he hit .249/.329/.399 over 130 games, marking the first season since 2008 that his batting average fell below .300.

Buxton is 7-for-22 (.318) with a home run and three stolen bases through nine spring training games.

Fresh off his breakout campaign in which he popped 16 homers and stole 29 bases while providing elite defense in center field, Buxton appears to be carrying over his strong performance into 2018. Though spring training results aren't necessarily indicative of regular-season success, it is nice to see the streaky hitter getting off to a productive start. If Buxton can translate his 2017 second-half performance into a full 2018 campaign, he'll entrench himself as one of the premier fantasy outfielders.

Jimenez (knee) entered Saturday's game as a pinch hitter and hit an opposite-field, two-run home run.

Jimenez has been slowed by a knee injury this spring but had been improving over the week. The White Sox announced he was slated to start Sunday, but he'd been badgering manager Rick Renteria to play, so the manager relented and allowed him to pinch hit a day earlier.

Solak was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, J. Scott Butherus of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old infielder went hitless in 18 spring at-bats, so his first exposure to major-league arms was far from smooth. Solak is likely to start the season at Double-A Montgomery after slashing .286/.344/.429 with nine doubles, a triple, two home runs and nine RBI in 132 plate appearances with Double-A Trenton in the Yankees organization in 2017.

Carpenter (back) said Saturday he intends to make his spring debut for the Cardinals on Tuesday against the Marlins, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter has been dealing with back soreness since early February and indicated the plan is to serve as the team's designated hitter Tuesday. The 32-year-old remains optimistic he can be available for Opening Day, which is a realistic goal should he be able to avoid any setbacks.

Ohtani has been receiving negative evaluations from scouts on his hitting, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

Scouts like Ohtani's power but believe there are major holes in his swing. He's expected to be particularly susceptible to curveballs and inside fastballs. The general verdict among scouts is that Ohtani would be best served as a hitter by spending a season in the minor leagues, though with his pitching being major-league ready already, that isn't going to happen. It's not a great report for those who moved Ohtani up on their draft boards in leagues where he's able to be used in both roles, though even if the Angels pulled the plug on him hitting entirely (which isn't likely to happen), it won't be a major hit to his fantasy value, as his primary value was always going to come as a pitcher.

Manager Rick Renteria confirmed that Jimenez (knee) will be in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Diamondbacks.

Jimenez has been sidelined since late February due to tendinitis in his left knee, but is set to make his second Cactus League appearance when the team takes on Arizona on Sunday. Renteria will likely be cautious with the top prospect and ease him back into game action, so don't be alarmed if he only plays a few innings or gets the day off Monday.

Brantley (ankle) returned to camp after dealing with an illness and is expected to start the baserunning portion of his running program in the coming days, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Brantley was sent home due to an illness that went around the team's clubhouse Thursday, but he appears to have recovered from this ailment and is ready to move forward with his return from right ankle surgery. He faced live pitching earlier this week, in addition to ramping up a running program and starting defensive drills over his last couple workouts. Manager Terry Francona has yet to discuss Brantley's availability for Opening Day, so continue to monitor this situation throughout the rest of spring camp.

Dickerson will proceed with the rehab route instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery on the UCL sprain in his left elbow, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

This remains a wait-and-see operation as Dickerson is still a few weeks away from participating in drills and will likely be sidelined from game action until the beginning of May while building the elbow back up to speed. In the event that the elbow fails to show any improvement, Dickerson will then undergo Tommy John surgery, which would end his 2018 season but give him enough time to get ready for next year. Either way, expect him to open the season on the disabled list.

McCutchen is 5-for-13 (.385) for the Giants this spring.

One of the Giants' prized offseason acquisitions has gotten off to solid start with his new club. McCutchen still hasn't delivered an extra-base hit, but the key for the veteran outfielder is that he is healthy and he has his timing down early in camp. The move to AT&T Park is never a positive for a hitter, but the 31-year-old managed to club 28 home runs while playing home games at PNC Park, which ranked in the bottom third in terms of park factors for long balls in 2017. The days of McCutchen being a 20/20 threat are in the rearview mirror, but the right fielder should be able to reach the 20-homer mark with a solid batting average and healthy counting stats while batting in the middle of San Francisco's revamped lineup.