MLB Player News

Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Monday against the Rangers.

Alvarez took Dane Dunning yard to lead off the second inning for his fourth home run of the season. Besides his power production, Alvarez has had a quiet start to the season, collecting only seven total hits across 46 plate appearances. Positively, Alvarez has hit the ball hard as he's maintained a 14.3 percent barrel rate. He's also made plenty of contact -- he's striking out only 15.2 percent of the time -- so more positive results should be on the horizon.

Ohtani will hit second as the designated hitter Monday against the Guardians, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 27-year-old hit leadoff for the first 16 games of the campaign but will now drop to the No. 2 spot in the order, with Taylor Ward batting leadoff. If the change to the batting order is a long-term move, Ohtani will still see plenty of run scoring opportunities and should see a bump in RBI production.

Martinez (groin) will return to the lineup as a designated hitter Monday against Toronto, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

A sore groin cost Martinez four games, but he avoided a trip to the injured list and is now ready to go. He was off to a solid start prior to the injury, hitting .268/.354/.463 through 12 games.

Miller is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.

The lefty-hitting Miller will take a seat for the second day in a row while the Astros bring a southpaw (Framber Valdez) to the hill for the series opener. The righty-hitting Nick Solak will replace Miller in left field.

Collins isn't starting Monday against the Red Sox.

Collins went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer and two strikeouts in Sunday's series finale against the Astros, but he'll head to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Lourdes Gurriel will serve as the designated hitter while Bradley Zimmer starts in right field.

The Mariners designated Ford for assignment Monday.

The transaction frees up space on the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster for catcher/designated hitter Luis Torrens, who was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move. Ford didn't see any action off the Seattle bench during his six-game stint with the big club.

The Mariners reinstated Torrens from the COVID-19 injured list Monday.

Seattle designated first baseman Mike Ford for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster for Torrens, who was inactive for six days after landing on the IL. Torrens drew three starts at catcher and one at designated hitter over Seattle's first 10 games, going 3-for-13 at the plate with a walk and two runs.

Winker went 1-for-5 with an RBI sacrifice fly and a game-winning run-scoring single in an extra-innings win over the Royals on Sunday.

Winker played a critical role in the red-hot Mariners' win, as his 10th-inning sacrifice fly tied the game at 4-4 and his 12th-inning single plated Adam Frazier with the winning run. Winker is showing signs of breaking out of a recent slump, as he was productive as a pinch hitter Saturday night before Sunday's two-RBI tally.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.

Brantley drilled his second homer of the year in the fourth inning Sunday, knocking Yusei Kikuchi out of the contest in the process. He's 11-for-28 (.393) with two long balls and five RBI over his last seven games. The veteran outfielder is slashing .316/.361/.474 through 62 plate appearances.

Buxton went 2-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI in Sunday's 6-4 win over the White Sox.

Buxton drove an opposite-field shot in the seventh inning off Aaron Bummer and later hammered a monster 469-foot shot off Liam Hendriks to end the game in the 10th. The 28-year-old continues to show that he's one of the league's most dangerous hitters when he's healthy; he went 6-for-9 with three homers, a double, five runs and seven RBI over the weekend. Buxton is sporting a .351/.415/.946 slash line with 11 RBI and six long balls through 40 plate appearances.