MLB Player News

Manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday that Alvarez (undisclosed) is "very close" to rejoining the Astros, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Alvarez missed all of summer camp for undisclosed reasons, but he's been training at Houston's alternate training site for more than two weeks. Assuming the 23-year-old checks out OK in the coming days, it sounds like he could be cleared to return as soon as this weekend.

Ford went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI in a win over Atlanta on Tuesday.

Ford doubled home a pair of runs in the fifth inning and drove in another with a two-bagger in the seventh. The 28-year-old figures to see his playing time increase with Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list with a hamstring injury, and Ford has now started consecutive games at DH. On the season, Ford is slashing .227/.280/.455 with a home run and seven RBI.

Solak went 3-for-4 with three RBI in Tuesday's win over Seattle.

Solak is seeing the ball well of late, hitting safely in five of his last seven games while notching four multi-hit appearances during that span. The second baseman is hitting .306 with a .779 OPS and five RBI in 36 at-bats this month.

Buxton went 3-for-4 with a stolen base in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Brewers.

The center fielder swiped his first bag of the year in the second inning after beating out an infield single. Buxton has been on a roll at the plate during one of his rare healthy periods, hitting .370 (10-for-27) over the last eight games with three homers, seven RBI, six runs and Tuesday's steal.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's win over Oakland.

Ohtani has been heating up of late, going 6-for-11 with three walks over his last three games. That stretch has brought his average from .132 to .224 on the campaign. He has also driven in 10 runs and scored eight times.

Jimenez went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and one run scored Tuesday against the Tigers.

Jimenez got the White Sox's offense rolling in first inning, blasting a three-run home run. He followed up his fourth home run of the season with an RBI single in the sixth frame. Jimenez had reached base just once in his last 23 plate appearances, so he'll look to build on this productive performance. Overall, Jimenez has still been productive however, as he has 12 RBI and six runs scored through 16 contests.

Vogelbach isn't in the lineup Tuesday against the Rangers.

Vogelbach hit a double in Monday's contest, but he's hitting just .103 with 11 strikeouts over 13 games this season. He'll take a seat Tuesday with Tim Lopes starting as the designated hitter.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a double and a walk in a win over Oakland on Monday.

With the Angels trailing by two runs in the sixth inning, Ohtani blasted a homer to center field with a man aboard to tie the score. The long ball was the fourth of the season for the slugger, and seven of his nine hits have gone for extra bases. Ohtani is hitting .200 on the season, but he has a .533 slugging percentage.

Canha, who went 2-for-4 with a hit by pitch and a run in a loss to the Angels on Monday, is now 5-for-11 over his last three games.

Canha's performance at the plate has been up and down in August, as he endured a 1-for-14 stretch over the three games prior to his current streak. However, Canha is hitting a solid .264 over his first 69 plate appearances, while his .420 on-base percentage, which has been partly propped up by 11 walks, is a career-best figure.

Stanton was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain Tuesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The diagnosis, which comes after Stanton underwent an MRI on Monday, is comparatively good news, as a Grade 1 strain is the least severe type of strain, though a standard return timeline from such an injury is usually three or four weeks, which represents a sizable portion of the remaining schedule. The Yankees have yet to give an official estimate for the slugger's return. Mike Ford handled designated hitter duties Sunday in his absence.