MLB Player News

Tigers catcher Alex Avila and Yoenis Cespedes are in the starting lineup for Monday's spring game against the Cardinals.

Avila was pulled from Wednesday's game with lower back stiffness. He was initially scheduled to return Friday before being crossed off the team's travel roster. Cespedes came out of Thursday's game with quad tightness and was not expected to appear Sunday or Monday, but he'll make his return to action in Jupiter against the Cardinals.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen doesn't want to push things too hard too fast. The former league MVP has been sidelined by a lower body injury for the last two days and wants to get right before getting back on the field, reports MLB.com.

"I've just been trying to get my legs under me," McCutchen said. "When you get back to baseball stuff after all the offseason workouts, it just takes a little time. I don't want to get back out there until I'm 100 percent."

McCutchen will take his time to get back on the field and is in no rush.

"We're dealing with him day to day," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's down again [Sunday], we have the day off [Monday] and we'll re-evaluate on Tuesday. I think we're in a good place with him."

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is struggling at the plate this spring, going just 1 for 8 so far. Even though he missed Wednesday's game with an abdominal injury, Blackmon wants to show more discipline at the plate and wait on pitches, reports MLB.com.

"I'm trying to see a lot of pitches," Blackmon said. "The other day, I took a 2-0 pitch on purpose [Friday while facing White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana, against whom he singled earlier in the game]. I want to be comfortable hitting later in the count, deeper in the count, with more strikes. In the season, if I get a 2-0 pitch over the plate, I'm going to try to hit it real hard. I'm not going to be trying to extend the at-bat."

The Indians continue to battle a stomach bug that's spreading through the locker room. 

On Sunday, outfielder Michael Brantley and pitcher Cody Anderson were scratched after being laid up with flu-like symptoms. 

Meanwhile, Brandon Moss, who missed the last two games with illness, returned to the Indians lineup on Sunday. Moss was fourth in the Indians' lineup, playing right field. 

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera and designated Victor Martinez are both running bases for the first time since undergoing surgery, according to MLB.com.

Cabrera, 31, had surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle back in October. The first baseman finished 2014 with a batting average of .313 with 25 homeruns.

Martinez tore the medial meniscus in his left knee in February. In 2014 he batted .335 with 32 homeruns.

The Tigers are hopeful that both players will be ready to go by opening day, but there is no definite timetable for their respective returns.

An MRI on Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor's wrist revealed a fractured triquetrum bone in his right wrist, the team announced on Saturday. 

Taylor fouled a pitch off the wrist on Friday. 

The injury will keep Taylor out of action for four-to-six weeks, ending his spring training and giving Brad Miller the shortstop job to start the season. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen won't be in the lineup Saturday and Sunday due to lower body soreness. McCutchen was scratched Friday with the same ailment , and told reporters that he would be available to play had it been a regular season game, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is set to take batting practice on Saturday, but isn't on the team's travel roster to go to Jupiter on Sunday and Monday, per MLive.com.

Cespedes left Thursday's Grapefruit League game with tightness in his left quad, and has not been able to return since. He did reveal that his left quad is feeling better on Saturday. He is hitting .313 with one double, one home run and five RBI in six spring games.

Barring a last-minute trip to join his teammates in Jupiter, the next opportunity for him to return to the lineup will come against Washington in Lakeland.

Pirates All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen was scratched from Friday's spring lineup against the Orioles due to lower body soreness.

McCutchen, who has made the All-Star team four straight seasons, is off to a slow start this spring. He is batting .167 (2 for 12) with one double, one RBI, one walk and one run in five spring games.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Friday outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is feeling "so-so" after leaving Thursday's spring game due to tightness in his left quad, per MLB.com. Ausmus said Cespedes is penciled into the lineup for a split-squad game Saturday, but he would be surprised if Cespedes plays.

Cespedes, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Boston, is batting .313 (5 for 16) with one double, one home run and five RBI in six spring games. He also has five runs, one walk and one stolen base.

Cespedes is entering the final year of his contract. He is slated to make $10.5 million in 2015.