MLB Player News

Polanco (Achilles) will start at designated hitter and bat third against the Athletics on Saturday.

Polanco has been in and out of the Mets' lineup recently with Achilles problems and sat out the Mets' last two games following his Achilles bursitis diagnosis, but he's seemingly feeling well enough to return to the starting nine Saturday. The 32-year-old has slashed .200/.289/275 across his first 45 plate appearances with New York.

Kelly isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates.

Kelly hit a single and walked three times during Friday's loss to extend his hitting streak to five games, but he'll remain on the bench to begin Saturday's contest. Miguel Amaya will catch instead for starter Edward Cabrera and bat seventh.

Suzuki isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Pittsburgh.

Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Suzuki won't return to an everyday role immediately after coming back from his knee injury. The 31-year-old went 1-for-3 with a walk during his season debut Friday and will now sit Saturday as the Cubs look to ease him back into the lineup. Michael Conforto will start in right field and bat eighth.

Happ (heel) will start in left field and bat fourth Saturday against the Pirates.

A bruised left heel kept Happ out of the lineup for two games, but he returned to the starting nine Friday and went 2-for-3 with a walk. The 31-year-old outfielder is off to a very strong start to the season, slashing .233/.327/.558 with four homers, seven RBI and seven runs scored through his first 11 games.

Conine will undergo a left hamstring tendon excision next week, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Conine suffered a left hamstring strain during Thursday's game against Cincinnati and has now decided to go under the knife to treat the problem. He's expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks following the procedure, setting him up for a return to Miami's lineup in late May or early June.

Benson isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Angels.

Benson will retreat to the bench Saturday after going 0-for-7 with two walks and four strikeouts over his last four contests. Spencer Steer, TJ Friedl and Noelvi Marte will form Cincinnati's outfield trio while Benson sits.

McLain isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Angels.

McLain will step out of the starting nine Saturday after going 0-for-4 to begin the series Friday. His absence will move Sal Stewart to second base while Nathaniel Lowe starts at first, batting sixth.

Winn (leg) expressed optimism Friday about returning to the lineup for Saturday's game against the Red Sox, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Winn was forced to exit Friday's contest with a bruised left leg after being hit by a pitch, but he escaped serious injury and doesn't expect to miss any starts. If the Cardinals elect to hold Winn out for a bit as a precaution, Thomas Saggese is likely to fill in at shortstop.

De La Cruz went 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk in Friday's loss to the Angels.

The Reds couldn't muster a lot of offense, though De La Cruz managed to launch his fourth homer of the season in the bottom of the eighth when Cincinnati was already down by nine runs. De La Cruz has been seeing the ball well to start the season and has hit safely in all but three of his 14 games, batting .236 with a .796 OPS, four homers, seven RBI, 10 runs scored, three steals and a 7:18 BB:K across 62 plate appearances.

Burns (1-1) was tagged with the loss Friday against the Angels after allowing five runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out two through 5.1 innings.

Burns was coming off a quality start on the road against the Rangers last time out, but he didn't have his best stuff in this one. He tossed only 57 of his 92 pitches for strikes and also gave up two homers -- a two-run shot to Zach Neto and a solo homer to Josh Lowe. Burns had allowed just one earned run through 11 innings in his previous two starts, so some regression was inevitable. He'll hope to bounce back in his next scheduled start against the Giants at home next week.