MLB Player News

Martinez, who is sitting for a third straight day Wednesday, is dealing with a sore back in addition to the illness that bothered him early in the week, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The back injury takes precedent over the illness, which he is probably over at this point. Abraham notes that Martinez may not play Thursday, in which case his availability for this weekend's series against the Astros could come into question. Christian Vazquez starts at DH on Wednesday.

Ohtani is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Twins.

He was hit on the finger by a pitch Monday, but was back in there Tuesday, and will get a breather in this one. The Angels have an off day Thursday, but Ohtani should be back in the mix this weekend against the Rangers. Mike Trout gets the nod at DH, with David Fletcher getting the start in left field Wednesday.

Buxton is not starting Wednesday against the Angels.

Buxton sits after starting 11 games in a row. He hit .400 over the first eight games of that stretch but has since gone hitless in three straight. Max Kepler gets the start in center field, with Marwin Gonzalez starting in right.

Stanton (shoulder) will be shut down for 7-to-10 days with a calf strain, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

The long end of that timetable would mean Stanton won't participate in baseball activities until June 1, and he will need another week or two after that to finish his rehab and get up to speed after missing a couple months with a shoulder injury. Per Adler, Stanton believes the calf injury is a result of when he was hit by a pitch a couple days ago while taking live batting practice, which only makes this a more frustrating situation.

Stanton's (shoulder) rehab assignment was put on hold Tuesday due to left calf tightness.

Stanton is already onto his third injury of the season, as he strained his shoulder while recovering from a biceps strain and now suffered a calf injury while recovering from the shoulder issue. He made it through one rehab game before the assignment had to be paused. The severity of this latest setback remains unclear.

Martinez (illness) will sit for the third straight game Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

It remains unclear when Martinez is expected to return, but he hasn't been able to appear even off the bench in the first two games of the series. Christian Vazquez will serve as the designated hitter in his absence.

Canha came off the bench Tuesday and went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in the 5-3 win over the Indians.

Canha entered the game for an injured Khris Davis (oblique) and proceeded to hit the two-run shot to right field in his first at-bat. The 30-year-old has found little consistency since coming off the injured list last week with a .227 average, but he has found his power stroke with four home runs in that stretch.

Stanton (shoulder) wasn't in the lineup for High-A Tampa on Tuesday due to some soreness in his calf/knee area, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Stanton was expected to be in the lineup as part of his minor-league rehab stint, but had the calf/knee issue crop up after being hit by a pitch during live batting practice a couple days ago. Overall it's good news that the slugger didn't experience a setback with his left shoulder. The leg issue isn't considered serious and the 29-year-old may be able to rejoin Tampa's lineup Wednesday to continue his rehab.

Stanton (shoulder) is not in the lineup for High-A Tampa on Tuesday, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

This is a surprise, as manager Aaron Boone said earlier in the day that the plan was for Stanton to play in a couple more rehab games with Tampa before advancing up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It's unclear if Stanton experienced a setback or if the team simply decided to change Stanton's travel plans based on the RailRiders' schedule. Stanton homered and struck out twice in his first rehab game Monday.

Ohtani (finger) is starting at designated hitter and batting third Tuesday against the Twins.

He checked out fine after getting hit on the right hand by a pitch in Monday's game, and won't have to miss any action as a result. Ohtani is hitting .250 with two home runs in 55 plate appearances this season.