MLB Player News

Brantley is not in the lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley has started the past eight games, slashing .310/.394/.448 with a home run and a 3:4 BB:K during that stretch. He'll give way to Jake Marisnick in the outfield in this one.

Soler went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Friday's 14-2 loss to the Orioles.

He gave the Royals a brief lead in the first inning with his second long ball in as many nights, but the game was all O's after that. Soler is slashing .253/.344/.540 on the year with 38 homers -- matching his career total coming into 2019 -- and 97 RBI.

Martinez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, an RBI double and two runs scored in Friday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the Angels.

Martinez's third-inning blast off Angels starter Jose Suarez gave the Red Sox a 4-0 lead at the time. He later drove in Xander Bogaerts with a double in the sixth. Martinez has found his power groove with five homers in his last six games, during which he's hitting 11-for-26 with 15 RBI and nine runs scored. The surge has him up to a .314/.388/.582 slash line with 33 homers, 90 RBI and 87 runs scored.

Cabrera (biceps) is available to pinch hit Friday against the Twins, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Cabrera will sit for the third straight game Friday, but he appears to be close to returning to the lineup. Ronny Rodriguez will serve as the designated hitter in his absence.

Choi went 2-for-4 with a two-run double, a walk and two runs in a win over the Astros on Thursday.

Choi's timely two-bagger in the seventh inning snapped a 6-6 tie and cinched his third multi-hit effort of the last four games. Choi's recent success comes in the wake of extended struggles, as the 28-year-old South Korean went 8-for-45 over his first 16 games of August.

Cabrera (biceps) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.

Cabrera will remain on the bench for the third straight game due to left biceps tightness. The 26-year-old took batting practice Thursday and downplayed the injury, but he'll have to wait at least one more game before returning to the starting nine. Ronny Rodriguez will serve as the designated hitter while Jordy Mercer starts at second base Friday.

Solak went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and run scored in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Mariners.

Solak was moved up to the cleanup spot Thursday with the team's usual 3-4-5 hitters all sidelined by injury. In the process, he became the first Ranger rookie to bat fourth since Pete Incaviglia did so in 1986. Solak's reached base safely in all 10 games since being added to the roster.

Soler went 1-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI on Thursday against the Athletics.

Soler took Chris Bassitt deep in the first inning to get the Royals ahead. It was his 37th homer of the season and ninth of August. It's been an impressive breakout campaign for Soler, as he's currently slashing .251/.343/.532 across 562 plate appearances.

Goins will start at shortstop and bat second Thursday against the Twins.

After serving as the designated hitter and manning right field the previous two days, Goins will cover shortstop for a resting Tim Anderson in the series finale. The DH spot probably represents Goins' most realistic path to an everyday role, as his main competition for those duties, Matt Skole, has posted an underwhelming .526 OPS since being called up from Triple-A Charlotte earlier this month.

Cabrera is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Indians but took batting practice and indicated his sore left biceps is feeling better, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The veteran also relayed that he won't require an MRI for the arm injury that has kept him out of the lineup for the final two games of the series with Cleveland. Manager Ron Gardenhire isn't expected to make Cabrera available as a pinch hitter Thursday, but assuming the 36-year-old shows continued improvement heading into the weekend, he could check back into the lineup as soon as Friday against the Twins.