MLB Player News

Matt Carpenter received the start at third base for the Cardinals on opening day Monday night against the Diamondbacks. He went 1 for 4 with a run scored in the 6-2 loss.

The 27-year-old doubled off starter Ian Kennedy in his first at-bat and came around to score on Matt Holliday's double.

Carpenter, who batted .304 during spring training, is playing the hot corner with David Freese (back) injured.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera only produced in one Triple Crown category in Monday's win at Minnesota. Cabrera drove in his first run of the season in the game. 

The All-Star and future Hall of Famer started the season 0 for 5 in the 4-2 win over the Twins. That said, his fielder's choice ground out in the first inning plated the first run of the game for Detroit. He also scored a run in the first. 

Cabrera, who added an error in the field on a slow roller hit by Joe Mauer, hit .309 during the spring with four homers and 16 RBI. He should get into the hit column shortly. 

After being considered questionable for the start of the season as late as last Wednesday, Mets second baseman Justin Turner was available off the bench during the team's season opener against San Diego on Monday. Turner dealt with a calf injury at the end of spring training, but was able to avoid the disabled list and open the season on New York's bench.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper slugged two solo home runs in his first two at-bats during Washington's 2-0 season-opening win over Miami on Monday. Harper, who served as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup for his first career opening day, finished 2 for 4 to finish as the lone player in the game to finish with multiple hits.

According to ESPN, he also became just the third player since 1920 with two homers on opening day when his team scored only two runs; the other two occasions came in losses.

Bryce Harper has gotten his sophomore season with the Nationals off to a dramatic start, homering in his first two at-bats against the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco. I projected Harper for a total of 26 home runs this year, expecting that he may not be able to exceed the 13 percent home run-to-flyball (HR/FB) ratio that he put up as a rookie.

Then again, Harper hasn't been much of a flyball hitter throughout his brief professional career, and last year, his flyball rate was just 33 percent. Even if he can't raise an already impressive HR/FB ratio, Harper can exceed 30 homers just by hitting the ball in the air more frequently. There is certainly room for him to exceed what could have been a conservative estimate.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera hit .413 with a .652 slugging percentage during the spring a year ago and went on to win the first Triple Crown since 1967. While he was not as productive this camp, the 29-year-old still got plenty of work in heading into the regular season and appears primed to defend his AL MVP award.

Cabrera batted .309 with four homers and 16 RBI in 55 Grapefruit League at-bats. He also slugged .618.

The Mariners reassigned Endy Chavez, Danny Farquhar, Brad Miller and Jesus Sucre to minor-league camp on Sunday.

After bashing a staggering two home runs last season with Philadelphia -- the same total as three pitchers in the National League -- it seems the most logical place in the lineup for revered slugger Placido Polanco is the cleanup spot. Or so his new team believes.

The Marlins announced Sunday they will start the season with Polanco in the noted run-producing spot while Giancarlo Stanton, who matched Polanco's homer total in two separate games last year, takes the No. 3 position. Perhaps the Marlins are playing it strictly by the numbers -- Polanco does have 103 career homers compared to Stanton's mere 93. There's only one key difference: Stanton has accomplished his total in 1,436 fewer regular-season games than Polanco.

Ultimately, Stanton's spot in the lineup won't matter as he's actually gone deep more from the three-hole (14) than the cleanup spot (12) in his brief career despite receiving fewer at-bats as the third hitter. When Albert Pujols led the NL with 42 homers during the 2010 season, all of them came from the No. 3 spot.

Throughout all the sarcasm, one thing remains clear: Stanton will continue to rake as he is easily the leading candidate to pace the league in home runs this season for the first time in his blooming career.

After seeing the spring A's outfielder Yoenis Cespedes turned in (.295 average, .623 slugging percentage, six HRs, 15 RBI in 22 games), I'm getting more confident in believing this could be the season Cespedes emerges as a top 10 Fantasy outfielder, if he stays healthy.

Continuing the renewed optimism surrounding their previously injured players, Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday that second baseman Justin Turner could be available for the season opener, ESPN.com reports. Turner suffered a strained left calf last Wednesday and did not appear in another game the rest of the exhibition season.

Starting infielders David Wright and Daniel Murphy, both of whom dealt with an intercostal injury this spring, are expected to play Monday against San Diego.