MLB Player News

Ramirez is not in Friday's lineup against the Rangers.

He will surprisingly take a seat even with a lefty (Martin Perez) on the hill for the opposition. Ramirez is hitting .195 with one home run, 11 strikeouts and two walks in 11 games this month. Christian Bethancourt will start at first base and hit sixth.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Athletics.

Alvarez was held out of the lineup Wednesday, likely due to lingering soreness in his hand or at the very least for maintenance purposes for said hand. However, he appeared healthy in his return to the lineup and delivered an RBI double in the third inning. Alvarez is now riding a six-game hitting streak during which he's hit .450 with three RBI and seven runs scored. For the campaign, he's slashing .295/.403/.598 across 494 plate appearances.

Alvarez (hand) is starting Thursday against the Athletics.

Manager Dusty Baker said Alvarez was held out of the lineup Wednesday due to hand soreness -- though the slugger disputed that notion after the game -- and he'll start in left field and bat third a day later. He's recorded hits in each of his last five games and has posted a 1.069 OPS with two home runs, three doubles, six runs, two RBI, six walks and two strikeouts during that span.

Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-1 loss against Toronto.

Ramirez accounted for all of Tampa Bay's offense Wednesday, crushing a sinker from Ross Stripling to left to make the score 5-1. After working through a 3-for-26 slump, he has recorded hits in his last two games. The homer gives Ramirez six on the season and improved his slugging percentage to .429, which would be the best of his career.

Alvarez said after Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Tigers that his absence from the lineup was for maintenance purposes rather than due to any recurring hand soreness, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Prior to the game, manager Dusty Baker alluded to Alvarez's absence being the result of soreness, but the 25-year-old slugger was adamant that his health wasn't an issue. Alvarez noted that he was available off the bench if needed, but Mauricio Dubon was the only reserve position player who saw action in the series finale. While it's good news that Alvarez seemed to push back at the notion that his hand soreness has cropped up again, fantasy managers will still want to see him re-enter the lineup Thursday against the Athletics to get some peace of mind.

Alvarez isn't starting Wednesday against the Tigers as a precautionary measure because he's dealing with a sore hand, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager Dusty Baker didn't sound too concerned about Alvarez's hand injury and said that the 25-year-old will need to manage the issue over the final few weeks of the season. Trey Mancini is starting in left field and batting sixth Wednesday, while Alvarez should be considered day-to-day for now.

Choi went 1-for-1 with two walks and a solo home run in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays.

Choi wasn't in the lineup for the first game of the doubleheader, but he was one of the few sources of offense in the latter matchup. He slugged his 10th homer of the season in the third inning off Alek Manoah for his second round tripper in his last 26 at-bats. Choi has been losing grip on a regular role, as he has started only six of the Rays' last 12 games.

Ford isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Guardians, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Ford is getting a breather after he went 1-for-11 with a walk and two strikeouts over the last three games. Matt Thaiss will start at first base and bat sixth.

Alvarez isn't in the lineup Wednesday against Detroit, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Alvarez has been dominant recently, going 7-for-16 with two home runs, three doubles, six runs, two RBI, six walks and two strikeouts over the last five games. He'll get a breather while Trey Mancini starts in left field and bats sixth.

Jimenez went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rockies.

Jimenez's first-inning blast was all the offense the White Sox needed in this one. He's been on quite the heater over the last week, going 14-for-28 (.500) with four homers, 12 RBI and seven runs scored during his seven-game hitting streak. The 25-year-old's posted five multi-hit efforts in that span, which has raised his season slash line to .317/.382/.522 with 13 homers, 45 RBI, 30 runs scored and eight doubles through 259 plate appearances this year.