MLB Player News

Tigers manager Jim Leyland announced Wednesday that third baseman Miguel Cabrera will draw the start at third base in Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the A's Thursday, MLB.com reports.

Cabrera appeared to be limited defensively by a lingering groin injury in Game 4, causing speculation that he could be shifted to designated hitter in order to improve the team's defense. He has received four at-bats in each of the first four games of the ALDS, managing just one single in each game and no extra-base hits.

Cardinals second baseman and lead-off man Matt Carpenter continued to struggle in the National League Division Series Wednesday despite his team's 6-1 win over the Pirates. Carpenter went 0 for 4 in Game 5, making him hitless in his last four games and just 1 for 19 over the five-game series.

Carpenter closed the regular season on a 1-for-14 funk over his last four games despite hitting .349/.441/.523 overall in the month of September. He'll look to shake out of his recent slump when the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers begins Friday.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen reached base all four times in Sunday's Game 3 win over St. Louis.

McCutchen went 2 for 2 with a single, a double, a pair of walks and a pair of runs scored. McCutchen has reached base 12 times in 18 plate appearances for a brilliant .667 on-base percentage this postseason.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes placed his injury issue behind him as he went deep against the Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series Friday night.

Cespedes took Detroit starter Max Scherzer deep for a two-run shot in the seventh inning to cut the lead to one run. He finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and two RBI in a 3-2 defeat.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will start in left field for Game 1 of the ALDS against Detroit, MLB.com reports. Cespedes had been limited to designated hitter due to a shoulder injury down the stretch of the regular season, but he appears to be over it.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin confirmed Thursday that there's a good chance outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will play left field in Friday's Game 1 against the Tigers, Comcast SportsNet reports.

Cespedes threw Thursday to test his injured shoulder, which limited him to DH duties from Sept. 14 to Sept. 25 before he played three innings in left field on Sept. 27. He went 8 for 37 with three home runs and six RBI during his DH-only stretch.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera said his abdominal injury will not be an issue during the playoffs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Cabrera has been dealing with the injury during September. He's hitting .348/.442/.636 in 555 at-bats. 

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday that third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been "playing in a lot of pain," ESPN reports.

"He's not 100 percent," Leyland said. "He's been playing in a lot of pain. He's a real tough guy. I think if anybody knew the pain he's playing in, they probably wouldn't believe it."

Cabrera dealt with multiple injuries over the second half of the season while hitting .316/.411/.565 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI in 193 at-bats after the All-Star break. He hit .365/.458/.674 with 30 home runs and 95 RBI in 362 at-bats during the first half of the season.

The Mets are expected to retain infielder Justin Turner, the New York Daily News reports. 

Turner hit .280/.319/.385 this year, his final pre-arbitration season. Turner is not expected to haul in a contract worth more than $1 million in arbitration, however, so the Mets can afford to keep him around as a utility man for at least one more year.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen became the first Pittsburgh player in history to reach base safely in each of his first four postseason plate appearances Tuesday night in the wild card win over the Reds.

McCutchen went 2 for 3 with two walks in the game as he scored a run in the 6-2 win to put the Pirates into the National League Division Series against the Cardinals. It was Pittsburgh's first playoff win since 1992.

The 26-year-old MVP of the Pirates hit .317 this season with 21 homers, 84 RBI and 27 stolen bases over 583 at-bats. He finished sixth in the NL in runs with 97 and fourth in walks with 78.