MLB Player News

Astros manager Dusty Baker said he expects Brantley (wrist) to avoid the injured list, but the outfielder may not be ready to rejoin the lineup until Tuesday versus the Angels, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Baker said that Brantley "dodged a major bullet" when he was struck on the wrist by a pitch in Saturday's win over the Athletics, as the 33-year-old was able to avoid any structural damage. He'll be held out of Sunday's series finale, however, and based on Baker's comments, Brantley doesn't seem likely to make it back Monday for the first of two games versus the Angels. The Astros play only five games during the upcoming week, so fantasy managers may be best off keeping Brantley out of their lineups with the knowledge that he'll likely miss at least one of those contests.

Brantley (wrist) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brantley will get some additional time off to recover after he was removed from Saturday's 9-1 win with a sore right wrist. Fortunately for Brantley, initial X-rays on his wrist returned negative, so he'll be considered day-to-day heading into a two-game set with the Angels that begins Monday. Chas McCormick will pick up a start in left field in place of Brantley on Sunday.

Stanton is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Aaron Judge will get a turn at designated hitter in place of Stanton, who manager Aaron Boone said is receiving a routine rest day, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.com. According to Rivera, Boone indicated that he hopes to avoid playing Stanton in five games in a row early on during the season, and the skipper viewed Sunday's contest as a good opportunity to build in a breather for the slugger. Stanton, who is expected to start in all three games of the Yankees' upcoming series with Baltimore, went 0-for-8 with two walks and three strikeouts over the team's first two contests of the season.

Cabrera is out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale with Cleveland after he developed cramps in Saturday's 5-2 win, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The Tigers are presumably just exercising some caution with Cabrera, who will most likely be back in the lineup for Monday's series opener versus the Twins. Robbie Grossman will serve as Detroit's designated hitter Sunday, while Harold Castro picks up the start at first base.

Manager Joe Maddon said Ohtani is expected to hit for himself as the starting pitcher Sunday against the White Sox, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Maddon made the announcement prior to Saturday's game and reiterated that plan following the contest. Ohtani was prevented from serving as the designated hitter the day before his starts in previous seasons, but the Angels apparently want to keep his bat in the lineup this year, even when he's on the mound. The move would result in Los Angeles operating without a designated hitter for Sunday's contest. The 26-year-old went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in Saturday's victory.

Mercedes went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and one run in Saturday's loss to the Angels.

After going 5-for-5 in his first big-league start Friday, Mercedes knocked three straight hits to begin Saturday's game, including his first homer as a major leaguer. With that, Mercedes became the first player since 1900 to begin a season with eight consecutive hits, per Elias Sports Bureau. It's an incredible story, but Mercedes is a 28-year-old journeyman and the lack of positional eligibility in many fantasy leagues hurts his case as a top waiver priority.

Martinez went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

Martinez is off to a quick start following a disappointing 2020. He's hit safely in two games thus far, going 4-for-8 with two doubles. The Red Sox's bats have been kept quiet by Oriole pitching, which has limited Boston to two runs and nine hits over 18 innings.

Buxton went 1-for-4 with a home run during Saturday's win over the Brewers.

Buxton has gone deep in each of his first two games of the season and while he'll be unable to sustain that pace going forward, the power display has been impressive to start the year. In fact, Buxton only has two hits in seven at-bats this season and both have gone yard, putting him on pace early to blow past his career-best mark of 16 homers set during the 2017 campaign.

Alvarez went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and a second run scored in Saturday's 9-1 win over the A's.

With the Astros up 2-1 in the fifth inning, Alvarez smashed a Lou Trivino offering over the wall in left-center field to provide some insurance. Alvarez is quickly making up for lost time after an injury-plagued 2020 and already has one homer and six RBI through two games to begin the season.

Ohtani got through a recent bullpen session without any issues from the blister that cut his final spring outing short, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani is scheduled to start Sunday against the White Sox, and it doesn't look as though the blister will interrupt those plans. He's in the lineup as a designated hitter Saturday despite the fact that he'll be pitching the next day, something the Angels had avoided doing in previous seasons.