MLB Player News

Brantley (shoulder) left the Astros on Sunday to continue his rehab program at the team's spring facility in Florida, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The veteran slugger joined the club in Houston for Opening Day and took batting practice Friday, but he'll now return to Florida to continue his rehab work. Brantley will be eligible to be activated from the injured list later this week, and the Astros hope he'll be ready for game action sometime in mid-April.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said prior to Sunday's game against the Rays that Cabrera will likely play only once during the team's upcoming series against Houston, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Cabrera ended up starting in all three games versus Tampa Bay, but Hinch notes that he's going to manage Cabrera's playing time on a "series-by-series" basis. He'll likely get Monday off against the Astros before returning Tuesday and then retreating to the bench for Wednesday's contest. The future Hall of Famer's lack of playing time on top of mediocre production makes him a player to avoid in nearly all fantasy formats.

Belt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Belt batted sixth as Toronto's designated hitter in the first two games of the season, but he'll head to the bench Sunday with lefty Jordan Montgomery pitching for St. Louis. Alejandro Kirk will rest his legs as the designated hitter while Danny Jansen starts behind the plate.

Reyes is not in the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Twins.

Reyes served as the designated hitter in the first two games of the season and will take a seat Sunday after he went 0-for-6 with two walks and five strikeouts. MJ Melendez will shift to designated hitter for the series finale while Jackie Bradley receives the start in right field.

Alvarez is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the White Sox, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez gets a day of rest in the early part of the year after appearing in the first three contests of the series. Corey Julks will start in left field and hit seventh, while David Hensley is slotted as the designated hitter and will hit fifth against Mike Clevinger and the White Sox.

Turner went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Saturday's 9-8 win over the Orioles. He also reached base when he was hit by a pitch.

Turner has gotten off to a nice start to his time in Boston, providing two-hit performances in both of his first two contests while reaching base six times in 10 total plate appearances. He batted out of the third spot in Boston's first two contests versus right-handed starting pitchers and will remain in the lineup Sunday as the No. 3 hitter while lefty Cole Irvin takes the hill for Baltimore.

Alvarez went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the White Sox.

Alvarez notched his first multi-hit effort of the season, which was highlighted by an RBI single in the eighth inning to put the Astros up by two runs. He has now knocked in at least one run in all three games this season, totaling five RBI and four runs scored.

Stanton went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Giants.

He took Alex Cobb deep in the third inning, giving Stanton his first homer of the season. The 33-year-old slugger has launched at least 30 homers in each of the last four seasons in which he's played at least 110 games, and positive regression in last year's career-worst .227 BABIP should raise his overall production -- as long as he can stay healthy.

Buxton went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double in Saturday's victory over Royals.

Buxton has picked up extra-base hits in each of his first two games, as he tripled Opening Day and laced a double off Jordan Lyles on Saturday. Over nine at-bats to open the season, he's now hitting .444 with a .778 slugging percentage. Buxton has been the designated hitter in the first two games for Minnesota, and it's allowed the 29-year-old to make an immediate impact with the bat without the physical toll of playing in the field.

Ramirez will be on the bench Saturday against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ramirez went hitless in his two at-bats on Opening Day. Luke Raley will take over at designated hitter Saturday.