MLB Player News

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said Rooker was removed from Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Cubs after feeling tightness in his hamstring, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Though Kotsay described Rooker's removal as precautionary, the 28-year-old is still being viewed as day-to-day and seems likely to sit out Wednesday's series finale versus Chicago. Rooker walked in his lone plate appearance before departing Tuesday, bringing his slash line to .324/.395/.676 for the season.

Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters before Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays that Brantley (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Brantley is facing live hitting, and he's progressed enough to begin squaring off against Triple-A pitchers starting this weekend. The outfielder will likely need a week-plus of action before joining Houston, as he missed all of the spring while recovering from surgery to repair his right shoulder labrum. Assuming no setbacks, he should be a regular for the Astros near the start of May.

Ohtani's next scheduled start has been moved up to Friday against the Royals, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani was was originally scheduled to pitch again Sunday against the Royals, but after throwing just 31 pitches Monday because of weather against the Red Sox on Monday, the right-hander will get bumped up a couple extra days. Ohtani has been outstanding over his four starts with a 0.86 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 27:13 K:BB over 21 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that he expects Stanton (hamstring) to be sidelined for around six weeks, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

After Stanton landed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, initial projections called for him miss 4-to-6 weeks, and Boone's comments suggest the Yankees are already bracing for the 32-year-old to trend toward the longer end of that timeline. While Stanton is on the shelf, Josh Donaldson could receive the bulk of the opportunities at designated hitter after he likely returns from a hamstring injury of his own within the next few days.

When asked if Ohtani's next pitching start could get moved up after the two-way star tossed only 31pitches against Boston on Monday, Angels manager Phil Nevin said, "We'll talk about it," Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani completed two innings against the Red Sox before a rain delay that lasted nearly 90 minutes. Nevin opted not to risk an injury to his star hurler by putting him back on the mound, so his outing was over after just 31 pitches. It stands to reason that Ohtani won't need as much time as usual to recover between starts, though Nevin's comments suggest that Angels aren't yet certain whether they'll push his next appearance up.

Ohtani did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing zero runs (one earned) through two hitless innings with one walk in the win over the Red Sox. He struck out three.

The 28-year-old exited the game after two hitless innings due to a prolonged rain delay. Ohtani gave up a walk to the Red Sox's leadoff hitter and threw two wild pitches, which led to a run-scoring groundout by Rob Refsnyder in the first inning. Despite his short performance, Ohtani was still impressive and boasts a 0.86 ERA with only two earned runs and 37 strikeouts in 21 innings. He is tentatively set to start again this weekend against Kansas City.

Reyes is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.

Reyes is on the bench for the second time in three games against a right-handed pitcher (Jacob deGrom), but he still appears to be in relatively good standing for a near-everyday role. Though he's supplied a lowly .222/.282/.389 slash line through 39 plate appearances, his .296 woBA is still good for fifth among all hitters in a Royals lineup that contains numerous black holes.

Jimenez went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts Sunday against the Orioles.

Jimenez started at designated hitter for the third consecutive game since returning from a hamstring injury Friday. Despite spending the minimum amount of time on the injured list, he's looked rusty since his activation and managed only one hit across 12 at-bats while striking out six times since. Jimenez has yet to get going this season, as he's maintained just a .161/.257/.226 line across 35 plate appearances.

Turner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Turner's absence from the starting nine looks to be little more than a veteran's day off while the Red Sox and Angels conclude their four-game series with a day game that begins at 11:10 a.m. local time. Outfielder Masataka Yoshida will get a day out of the field to fill Turner's usual spot as Boston's designated hitter.

Rooker went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Mets.

Rooker has started six straight games and has notched two hits in all but one of them, slashing .417/.464/.958 with four home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.423 OPS over that span. The 28-year-old has been hitting in the heart of the Athletics' order each day, and he showcased power at Triple-A last season with 28 home runs in 81 games. The run he's on isn't sustainable, but it looks like the A's are turning him into an everyday player and he should warrant some fantasy consideration.