MLB Player News

Manager Aaron Boone said Stanton (shoulder) will start ramping up his activities Monday, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Stanton will go through a pair of "light" workouts Saturday and Sunday, and if everything goes off without a hitch, the veteran slugger will be cleared to ramp things up from there. Look for an updated timetable for his return to emerge once he's cleared to increase his activities.

Manager Brad Ausmus said Ohtani (elbow) "could" return Tuesday against the Tigers, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani's original return date was set for May 17, but Ausmus didn't shoot down the idea of activating him ahead of Tuesday's series opener in Detroit, if Ohtani proves ready. The 25-year-old, who recently said he feels ready to return, is scheduled to take live batting practice each of the next three days, and how he responds will likely determine when he's activated from the injured list.

Ford is in the lineup as the DH, hitting fifth against the Twins on Friday.

The 26-year-old slides into the starting lineup for the first time since April 25. He's hitting just .167 in 24 at-bats since his callup from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes/Barre, but he has drawn eight walks to give him a solid .394 on-base percentage.

Ohtani (elbow) is expected to be activated before the Angels' three-game series against the Royals beginning May 17, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Angels have finally set a date for Ohtani's return after a few weeks of speculation on when the two-way star would come off the injured list. Ohtani has been hitting in simulated games for nearly two weeks now and has stated that he feels healthy enough to play, but Los Angeles will hold him out until mid-May to ensure he's good to go.

Jimenez (ankle) could begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Jimenez sprained his ankle last week but is already making encouraging progress in his recovery. The outfielder took batting practice with a brace on his ankle Wednesday before hitting off a tee Thursday. If he continues to progress without setbacks, Jimenez may not be forced to miss much more than the minimum amount of time.

Choi is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With southpaw Danny Duffy on the mound for Kansas City, Choi and fellow lefty-hitting regular Kevin Kiermaier will hit the bench in the series finale as the Rays stock up on extra right-handed bats. Choi started in both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader loss, going 0-for-4 in the early game and 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the nightcap.

Soler went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a double in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Rays.

Soler went 0-for-3 in Game 1 but came alive early in Game 2, as he did all his damage through the first three innings. The 27-year-old has endured a slow start to the season and is slashing .231/.283/.479 with seven home runs and 19 RBI in 31 games.

Ohtani (elbow) told reporters Wednesday that he feels ready to return, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Despite Ohtani feeling ready to rejoin the lineup, the Angels are understandably taking a cautious approach with the two-way star; they've already stated that he won't travel to Mexico this weekend for the team's two-game series against the Astros, as they want him to get more plate appearances in a controlled setting before bringing him back. The original plan was for Ohtani to get around 40 plate appearances in before returning, and he's sitting at 32 after taking seven at-bats Wednesday.

Brantley is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Twins, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley will give way to Aledmys Diaz in left field Wednesday as the Astros go with an all right-handed-hitting lineup against southpaw Martin Perez. Through 30 games this season, Brantley is slashing .331/.380/.517 with five homers and three stolen bases.

Brantley went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk and two runs Tuesday in the Astros' 11-0 win over the Twins.

Brantley was one of four Astros to turn in a multi-hit performance in the team's top scoring performance of the season. The 31-year-old has thus far avoided the health issues that often plagued him in Cleveland and has fit in seamlessly as Houston's cleanup hitter with a career-high .897 OPS through 30 games.