MLB Player News

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes homered again in Saturday's exhibition game against the Giants at O.co Coliseum.

Cespedes took Ryan Vogelsong deep in the third inning for a three-run home run. It was his sixth homer in the past 11 games. He was 1 for 4 in the 4-3 victory. The 27-year-old finished spring training with a .295 average, six homers and 15 RBI.

"It looked like it was off the end of the bat," said manager Bob Melvin. "For anybody else, it's probably a medium fly ball to left field. But that shows his strength."

The Mets will decide Sunday whether second baseman Justin Turner will begin the season on the 25-man roster or the disabled list. He's recovering from a strained left calf.

Turner's status will dictate whether infielder Zach Lutz will open the season with the Mets or in the minors.

The Astros recalled J.D. Martinez from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday to fill the roster spot vacated by Fernando Martinez's move to the disabled list. Martinez was shipped to the minors last week after hitting .286 with four extra-base hits during 19 games this spring.

Mets infielder Justin Turner is expected to start the season on the disabled list with a calf injury, ESPN.com reports. Turner suffered a strained left calf during a Grapefruit League game on Wednesday and as remained out of the lineup. He was carrying a .295 batting average during the spring.

Now that Bryce Harper's thumb issue is behind him, drafters may continue taking him too early. 

The Nationals' stud youngster was supposed to fall to the fourth round this year and be a nice sleeper pick there, not leap up to the fringes of the second. I like Harper -- and I can back it up with baseball history -- but there's a little bit of downside that needs to be recognized here: He only hit .243 in his short Triple-A stint, with a .690 OPS. Plus, for all Mike Trout did last year, there aren't a ton of data sets that definitively prove a 20-year-old deserves that "surefire" tag.

I don't necessarily agree with these arguments, but they should at least be presented by someone, right?

Again, I like Harper -- i think he'll hit .300 with a possible 40/40 campaign. And I know that translates to a first-round pick. But there should be plenty of people out there tempering expectations a little bit, and they don't seem to exist. Instead, his price just gets driven up, and he loses that exciting sleeper gambit that would have been a fun angle in 2013.  

Washington outfielder Bryce Harper continued to show no problems with his swollen thumb Thursday, finishing 1 for 1 with a sacrifice fly and a stolen base during the Nationals' 5-1 Grapefruit League victory over the Mets.

Harper, who returned to the lineup after resting his sore left thumb Wednesday, has recorded a hit in 10 straight at-bats to push his batting average to a robust .484 during the spring. He has registered a hit in all but five of his 24 games during Grapefruit League play. The 20-year-old is expected to be in the starting lineup for opening day Monday against Miami.

Bryce Harper will return to the Nationals lineup Thursday, the Washington Post reports. The outfielder missed Wednesday's game due to a thumb injury suffered Tuesday.

The injury has been practically the only thing to go wrong in Harper's entire spring. He's hitting a robust .476/.507/.730 with nine extra-base hits in 67 plate appearances. 

Mets infielder Justin Turner left Wednesday's Grapefruit League contest against the Astros due to a left calf strain. He went 0 for 1 before the early exit.

"It just cramped up," Turner told ESPN.com. "The top of the second inning -- I don't remember who was hitting -- he hit a groundball down the third-base line and it was foul. When I took my first step, I kind of felt it knot up a little bit. I came up to hit in the next inning. And I hit the groundball and I was going down the line and it just cramped up on me. I got out of there and got some treatment on it, and we'll see how it feels tomorrow."

Turner is batting .295 with five RBI so far this spring.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was held out of Wednesday's spring lineup because of a sore thumb. Harper said he hurt his thumb pretty bad after getting jammed Tuesday, but he feels better Wednesday.

He won't hit Wednesday, but he hopes to be back in the spring lineup by Thursday or Friday. Harper said he isn't concerned about the thumb injury lingering into the season. He will just play through the soreness, if needed. Harper is batting .459 (28 for 61) with one triple, three homers, five doubles, 13 RBI and four stolen bases in 22 spring games.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt returned to the starting lineup Tuesday against the Padres after sitting out two games with a neck injury. Belt turned in a solid performance, finishing 3 for 4 with a stolen base and an RBI-single in the seventh inning. He is hitting .453 with a .478 on-base percentage and a .906 slugging percentage in 20 Cactus League games.