MLB Player News

Rooker (forearm) was cleared to resume swinging a bat Monday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Rooker appears to be making good progress since requiring surgery in late September to address a fractured right forearm. The 26-year-old will likely gradually ramp up the intensity of his workouts throughout the winter with the aim of receiving full clearance ahead of spring training. He'll likely be competing for a spot on the Twins' Opening Day roster in 2021 as a right-handed bench bat.

Lewis was named the AL Rookie of the Year on Monday.

Lewis earned some sleeper buzz heading into the season and went on to surpass expectations, finishing with a .262/.364/.437 slash line while hitting 11 homers and stealing five bases. That was enough to earn him all 30 first-place votes for the award. Luis Robert finished second, picking up 27 second-place votes, with Cristian Javier coming in third.

Ohtani has been throwing for approximately a month and has reached 120 feet, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani remains somewhat limited but has been able to throw at 75 to 80 percent effort. The Angels expect him to enter spring training as a two-way player. Of course, he was expected to be a two-way player this year as well, but he wound up allowing seven runs while recording just five outs over a pair of starts before the Angels shut him down from throwing. The team will hope that putting his Tommy John surgery another year in the rearview mirror and going through a normal offseason and spring buildup process will bring different results this time around.

Martinez will not opt out of the remaining two years on his contract with the Red Sox, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

This seemed like a forgone conclusion, especially with Martinez coming off a down year. He is due $38.75 million over the next two years. The designated hitter, who turned 33 in August, slashed .213/.291/.389 with seven home runs in 54 games this season.

Choi is out of the lineup Sunday for Game 5 of the World Series versus the Dodgers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

For the second straight day, the lefty-hitting Choi heads to the bench with the Dodgers bringing another southpaw starter (Clayton Kershaw) to the hill. Yandy Diaz will serve as the Rays' first baseman.

Choi will sit for Game 4 of the World Series against the Dodgers on Saturday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The Rays will load up on righties with southpaw Julio Urias on the mound, just as they did in Game 1 against Clayton Kershaw. Yandy Diaz gets the start at first base in Choi's absence.

Choi will sit for Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers on Tuesday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

The Rays' smart usage of platoons has gotten them this far, and they won't change plans now. Yandy Diaz starts over Choi at first base with the left-handed Clayton Kershaw on the mound for the Dodgers.

Choi is not in the lineup for Game 6 of the ALCS against the Astros on Friday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Choi went 2-for-2 with a solo homer and two walks during Thursday's Game 5 defeat, and he'll take a seat with lefty Framber Valdez starting for Houston in Game 6. Yandy Diaz receives the start at first bay Friday for the Rays.

Choi went 2-for-2 with two walks and a solo home run in the Rays' Game 5 loss to the Astros on Thursday.

The 29-year-old's second homer of the postseason was a big one as it knotted the game at 1-1 in the eighth inning, though Tampa Bay would ultimately fall short. Choi figures to find himself on the bench against lefty Framber Valdez for Game 6, just like he was for Game 1.

Brantley underwent an X-ray after fouling a ball off his foot Wednesday but is in the lineup Thursday for Game 5 of the ALCS against the Rays, batting second as the designated hitter, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brantley left Wednesday's game due to the incident, though his removal was evidently precautionary. The veteran is hitting .341/.413/.610 with three homers in 10 games this postseason, so the Astros will certainly be happy to have him available.