MLB Player News

Buxton (hip) is still having trouble decelerating and is unlikely to begin a rehab assignment immediately, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Buxton has been swinging in the cage to begin the week, and there was hope that he could begin a rehab assignment by the end of the week. However, the center fielder will need some more time to recover since he's still not able to run without issues. Rob Refsnyder should continue to see increased work in center field while Buxton is unavailable.

Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a pair of walks in Tuesday's victory over Texas.

The two-way star crushed a three-run shot in the fourth inning, smoking a ball that left his bat at 117 mph. Per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, the blast was the hardest-hit homer of his career. Ohtani is tied for second in all of baseball with 15 long balls on the season and has added 38 RBI, six stolen bases and a .269/.326/.632 slash line.

Ohtani will take the mound Thursday against the Athletics, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Angels previously indicated the 26-year-old lined up to pitch Friday, but he'll instead start a day earlier in the series opener. The right-hander showed some decreased velocity in his previous start last Wednesday, but it's apparently not a concern. Ohtani is batting second as the designated hitter for Tuesday's matchup with the Rangers.

Stanton (quadriceps) will run and hit Tuesday but won't be activated off the injured list, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Previous reports indicated Stanton could return from the injured list when first eligible Tuesday, but he's at least a day or two behind that schedule. He doesn't seem to have suffered a setback, however, so it shouldn't be long before he's back in the lineup.

Brantley will sit Tuesday against the Dodgers due to general leg soreness, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley's 34-year-old legs are banged up following the Astros' weekend series on the turf at Globe Life Field. He'll get to avoid a tough lefty in Clayton Kershaw but should return to the lineup Wednesday. Chas McCormick starts in left field in his absence.

Choi (knee) will lead off and serve as the designated hitter Tuesday against the Royals, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Choi left Monday's game against the Blue Jays with a sore right knee, an issue which could have been a worrisome one given that he had surgery on the same knee in late March. The Rays said after the game that he wasn't expected to miss time, however, and that's indeed the case, as he's back in the lineup without missing a single start.

Ramirez went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Monday's 6-5 win over Detroit.

The outfielder hit a game-tying RBI single in the sixth inning and promptly stole second. That was Ramirez's first steal of the season. The 26-year-old outfielder has been a fairly steady presence in the lineup since the start of May. He's posted a .263/.276/.456 slash line with two home runs, six RBI, six runs scored and five doubles in 58 plate appearances.

Lewis went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and two walks in Monday's win over the Athletics.

Lewis socked his fourth homer of the season during the third inning against Oakland starter Frankie Montas. The center fielder extended his hitting streak to three games and has recorded at least one knock in four of his last five appearances, though it's worth noting that his power stroke hasn't shown up regularly -- Monday's home run was his first since May 4.

Canha went 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks in Monday's loss against the Mariners.

Canha extended his hitting streak to five games, and he's gone deep three times in that span. He's been a steady source of offensive numbers for the Athletics of late, hitting safely in 11 of his last 12 games with a .326 average and five homers in that stretch.

Mercedes went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in Monday's win over the Cardinals.

Mercedes has recorded four multi-hit appearances over his last seven games while going hitless in the other three in that stretch, so he's been quite inconsistent -- which was likely to be the case following his torrid start to the campaign. Still, Mercedes is hitting .279 with a .724 OPS across 74 plate appearances this month.