MLB Player News

Mercedes isn't starting Thursday's game against Minnesota.

Mercedes had recorded hits in each of the last five games and went 7-for-21 with a triple, a double, five RBI and three runs during that time. Jose Abreu will serve as the designated hitter while Jake Lamb starts at first base.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in the Astros' 9-1 win over the Angels on Wednesday.

Alvarez homered off Patrick Sandoval in the eighth inning Wednesday. The 24-year-old continues his scorching hot start to 2021, slashing .347/.378/.619 through 127 plate appearances. He leads the Astros in OPS with .997 and has seven home runs, 22 RBI and 24 runs scored. The slugger has at least two hits in 14 of his 29 starts.

Cabrera went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's win over the Royals.

This was Cabrera's third two-hit effort across his past four games, but it's still been a struggle for the veteran this season, as he's batting just .160 even after the good performance Wednesday. Perhaps he can build on the recent good results, though fantasy managers should temper their expectations the rest of the way.

Buxton (hip) has been cleared to throw and is expected to begin hitting in the batting cage Thursday or Friday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old was ruled out multiple weeks after landing on the injured list with a Grade 2 hip strain Friday, so it's good to see him working his way back into baseball activities. Buxton can safely be considered out indefinitely until he progresses further into his rehab work.

Torrens is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Dodgers, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Torrens went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Tuesday and will head to the bench for Wednesday's contest. Tom Murphy will start behind the plate and bat sixth for the Mariners.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Choi wasn't activated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday after experiencing a "little bit" of renewed soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi was lifted from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Durham to receive a re-evaluation and further treatment in Tampa Bay, but Cash noted that the 29-year-old isn't believed to be dealing with any sort of setback. That said, the next steps for Choi remain unclear, as the Rays will likely wait and see how he responds to treatment before determining whether he'll be an option during the team's upcoming series with the Mets this weekend.

Ramirez isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Ramirez had started in six of the last seven games and went 6-for-23 with three doubles, three runs, two RBI and two strikeouts during that time. Amed Rosario will start in center field and bat second.

Soler went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run, a double and six RBI during Tuesday's loss to the Royals.

Down 7-0 in the eighth inning, Soler put the Royals on the board with a three-run shot against Kyle Funkhouser. The 29-year-old added the exclamation point of the game with a three-run double in the ninth, knotting up the score at 7-7. It was the the third long ball and 11th double of the season for Soler, who has struggled to replicate the 48-homer campaign he pieced together in 2019. Across 34 games this year, he's batting .200/.280/.374.

Ohtani allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out 10 across seven innings in Tuesday's loss to the Astros. He did not factor into the decision. At the plate, he went 1-for-4.

Ohtani did everything he could to keep the Angels in the game Tuesday. His only earned run came on a fifth-inning home run by Kyle Tucker. The two-way player has struggled with his control this season, walking 19 batters through his first four starts. However, he didn't show any signs of that against the Astros, walking only one batter and reaching double-digit strikeouts for the first time this season. In addition, he batted second and hit a single in the seventh inning. If that wasn't enough, after he was relieved in the eighth inning, he stayed in the game in right field.

Lewis went 4-for-8 with two walks and a run in two weekend games against the Rangers, boosting his season average 36 points to .258.

The slugging outfielder has progressively ramped up after going 3-for-22 over his first six games following a delayed start to the season. Lewis has slashed .325/.372/.500 with a double, two home runs, four RBI, three walks and four runs in the 43 plate appearances covering his subsequent 10 contests, and he'll enter Tuesday's interleague series opener versus the defending champion Dodgers with a three-game multi-hit streak.