MLB Player News

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is back in the lineup and batting fifth in Tuesday's game against the Rangers.

Cespedes wasn't in the starting lineup Monday after suffering a bruised heel in his previous game, but he was able to play two innings off the bench in Monday's game. He has hit 247/.325/.493 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 73 at-bats.

Cubs outfield prospect Jorge Soler is rehabbing his hamstring injury at the team's spring complex in Arizona, per MLB.com. He is doing baseball activities, but he has yet to play in an extended spring game.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (heel) came off the bench on Monday, and played the field for two innings in a 4-3 defeat to the Rangers.

Cespedes, who is recovering from a heel injury, flew out in each of his two at-bats, including in the ninth with a runner on second for the final out of the game. He is hitting .247/.325/.493 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 73 at-bats.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon stayed hot in Monday's win over the Giants, going 2 for 4 with one walk and two solo home runs.

Blackmon has three bombs in his last two games as well as seven hits in 17 at-bats over his last four games. He has hit .411/.450/.671 with four home runs, 13 RBI and five stolen bases in what's been a remarkable first month of the season.

Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf has begun swinging in the batting cage, MLB.com reports.

"He's starting to progress," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "I'm not sure when we'll get him into games yet."

Ruf is on the disabled list due to a strained oblique. He has yet to play in the regular season.

Mariners shortstop Brad Miller was dropped to ninth in the order prior to Monday's game against the Astros, MLB.com reports. Miller has three home runs and seven RBI over his first 72 at-bats, but is slashing .194/.237/.361 over that span.

As expected, Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was not in the starting lineup Monday against the Rangers after leaving Sunday's game with a heel injury. Brandon Moss started in left field in Cespedes' absence.

After three weeks of play, it's impossible to ignore the persistent struggles of Miguel Cabrera, With the end of April just over a week away, the Tigers' slugger has a .648 OPS that is even lower than the .729 mark he posted last September when he was dealing with a groin tear.

According to the PitchFX data on FanGraphs.com, Cabrera is seeing the highest percentage of pitches in the strike zone (51.4 percent) of his career, and he has not been taking advantage of it. Though he is swinging and missing at a rate in line with his recent norms, Cabrera has been taking strikes far more often than he does typically and even more often than the major league average.

The swing percentage data on BrooksBaseball.net shows that Cabrera was also not swinging much last September. Then again, there have been plenty of other times when Cabrera has been a more passive hitter (Aug. 2012, for example), and it hasn't always corresponded with subpar performance. It's not clear why Cabrera isn't swinging the bat or what impact that has on his current slump. However, given that this is the trend that is most out of line with what he usually does at the plate, Fantasy owners can take comfort in knowing that Cabrera has gone through stretches like this before, and he's always come out them as a more aggressive and more powerful hitter.

Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez was promoted from Triple-A Toledo to the major-league roster Monday, per MLive.com. 

Martinez has been on a tear at Triple-A, batting .308 with an .846 slugging percentage and 1.212 OPS in 17 games. He has one triple, three doubles, 10 home runs and 22 RBI. Martinez was averaging a home run every 6.5 at-bats with Toledo.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin told MLB Network Radio outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will not start Monday against the Rangers after leaving Sunday's game with a heel injury.

"He has a little bone bruise, but he's been in every inning of every game," Melvin said. "He'll get a day off tonight."