MLB Player News

Carpenter is one of the players manager Mike Matheny is considering for occasional starts at third base in the wake of Jhonny Peralta (upper respiratory illness) heading to the disabled list, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "We're not ruling that out as an option," said Matheny.

The former third baseman has been taking grounders at third in the last few days in anticipation, although he continues to draw starts at first base. Occasional deployment of Carpenter at the hot corner would presumably shift Jedd Gyorko to first or give fellow left-handed bat Matt Adams a chance for extra playing time.

Cespedes (hamstring) is not in the lineup Saturday against the Nationals.

This doesn't come as a major surprise. Manager Terry Collins has said that Cespedes would likely be taking a few days off as a precaution, so he may not return until after the Mets' off day Monday. Juan Lagares and Michael Conforto will continue receiving the bulk of outfield playing time in his absence.

Cabrera was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain Saturday.

This is yet another blow to a Tigers lineup that is already missing J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias. Cabrera was sent in for an MRI after leaving Friday's game and it had already been announced that he'd miss the remainder of the Tigers' weekend series against the Twins. However, now it has been confirmed that he'll be sidelined until at least early May. John Hicks, who was recalled in a corresponding move Saturday, will likely see most of the time at first base while Cabrera is sidelined.

Cabrera (groin) will not play for at least the remainder of the Tigers' weekend series against the Twins, MLB.com's Jason Beck reports.

The veteran slugger was sent in for an MRI early Saturday, and though the results have yet to be released, manager Brad Ausmus did tell reporters that Cabrera would miss at least the next two games. John Hicks is up with the team and could fill in at first base, but an official roster move has not been made at this point. Cabrera's next chance to return will come Tuesday against the Mariners, but the results of Saturday's MRI should give a clearer picture on his timeline.

Cabrera (groin) had an MRI on Saturday morning, MLB.com's Jason Beck reports.

The Tigers are waiting on the results after Cabrera was initially diagnosed with a right groin strain after leaving Friday's game. John Hicks is with the team, but he's not been officially called up from Triple-A. Hicks would likely get the start at first base Saturday if Cabrera is unable to play.

Jimenez (shoulder) has progressed to playing outfield during extended spring training games, Phil Rogers of MLB.com reports.

It's great news from a recovery standpoint for Jimenez, who until this point had been limited to a designated hitter role. The 20-year-old has been slowly working his way back from a bone bruise in his right shoulder that he suffered during spring training, but it appears activity is ramping up for the youngster. Jimenez will likely report to High-A Myrtle Beach after slashing .329/.369/.532 with Low-A South Bend last year.

Stanton went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Padres.

Don't look now, but the big man has homered in consecutive games and three times in his last six starts, giving him five bombs on the season to go along with a very Stanton-esque .267/.348/.533 slash line. As long as he can stay healthy, expect to see his name among the league's home-run leaders in short order.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Padres.

His impressive April continues, as Ozuna is now slashing .333/.377/.635 through 16 games with six homers, eight runs scored and 20 RBI. His .385 BABIP is bound to fall, but the 26-year-old's run production should stay strong if he can maintain even some of the gains he's shown in his career-high .302 ISO thus far.

Harper went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Friday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Mets.

He kicked off the scoring with a two-run blast -- his seventh home run of the season -- off Matt Harvey in the first inning and then doubled and scored on Trea Turner's bases-loaded walk in the 11th to produce the winning run. Harper came into the game with the fourth highest career OPS in the month of April in baseball history -- behind only some guys named Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Barry Bonds -- and Friday's performance exemplified how the 24-year-old has earned his place alongside those legends.

The injury that forced Cabrera to leave Friday's game has been diagnosed as a right groin strain and he will be reevaluated Saturday.

It turns out this injury was unrelated to the back injury that plagued Cabrera earlier the month. Whether or not that's a good sign remains to be seen. More serious groin strains can take weeks to fully heal, but this one may be mild enough for Cabrera to play through the pain. Expect more relevant information -- like whether or not the injury will require a trip to the 10-day DL -- before Saturday's 2:10 PM Eastern start time.