MLB Player News

Cabrera is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Cabrera has been managing a sore knee that kept him out of action Saturday and Sunday, but the Tigers cleared him to serve as their designated hitter for the first two games of the series. The 36-year-old was the star of Tuesday's 9-6 win with three hits (including a grand slam), but he went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's 4-0 loss. The Tigers haven't indicated that Cabrera experienced a setback with his knee coming out of Wednesday's contest, so he's likely just getting a maintenance day for the series finale due to the quick turnaround between games.

Choi went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a walk in a win over the Tigers on Wednesday.

Choi drew the start at first base and hit safely for the third straight game. The 28-year-old has actually been running hot at the plate since late May, as he's now hitting .333 (10-for-30) with two doubles, a home run, four RBI, four walks and four runs across his last nine games.

Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, a walk and another run scored in Wednesday's 10-9 win against the Athletics.

With two outs in the fourth, Ohtani stepped up to the plate and launched a three-run, go-ahead homer off Yusmeiro Petit to give the Angels an 8-7 lead. He also singled and scored another run on a bases-loaded walk. With the long ball, he now has homered in two straight games and three of his past five. The 24-year-old has been finding his stride since coming off the injured list, batting .250/.333/.406 to go with five home runs, 20 RBI and nine runs scored in 24 games.

Vogelbach entered Tuesday's loss to the Astros as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning and belted a three-run double in two at-bats.

Vogelbach's big hit came in his first plate appearance, when manager Scott Servais called on him to hit for Tim Beckham with two out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The left-handed slugger had been given the night off with southpaw Wade Miley on the mound for the Astros, but Tuesday's production extended a modest but welcome early June surge. Vogelbach has hit safely in three of his first four games of the month after generating just a .187 average across 104 plate appearances in May.

Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the A's.

He was the only Angel to have much success against Frankie Montas and the Oakland bullpen -- the rest of the roster combined for two hits, a walk and a HBP. Ohtani now has four homers and 16 RBI in 23 games since his return to the lineup as a hitter, but his .239/.321/.370 slash line is still lagging well behind last year's pace.

Martinez went 3-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and two runs in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Royals.

The three-bagger was his first of the year. Martinez is now slashing .275/.326/.600 with three homers, four RBI and seven runs through 10 games since missing some time in late May with a sore back. While solid, that stretch actually qualifies as a bit of a downturn for the 31-year-old relative to his .301/.378/.536 line for the season.

Cabrera went 3-for-4 with a double, a grand slam and five total RBI in Tuesday's 9-6 win over the Rays.

Cabrera hit a fifth-inning grand slam off Tampa Bay ace Blake Snell, which broke a 2-2 tie. It was just the third home run of the season for the veteran slugger, though he is batting a solid .293. The Tigers are being cautious with the 36-year-old and deploying him only as a designated hitter for the foreseeable hitter as he's dealt with knee soreness recently. Detroit also sent out a pinch runner for Cabrera in the seventh inning, and this could be a recurring trend moving forward as the team seeks to keep him healthy.

Vogelbach will head to the bench for Tuesday's game against the Astros, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

With the Astros rolling out southpaw Wade Miley for the second matchup of the series, Vogelback will get the night off. Tim Beckham slots in as the designated hitter and will bat seventh with Vogelbach out of the mix.

Choi isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi will head to the bench with a lefty slated to toe the rubber for Detroit. Yandy Diaz draws the start at first base and is batting leadoff in Choi's place.

Cabrera was seen by four different specialists, who ultimately gave him the green light to keep playing, but he'll be held out of the field for the foreseeable future, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Cabrera is batting cleanup Tuesday out of the designated hitter slot, though he'll be considered day-to-day moving forward due to his chronic knee issues, per Woodbery. Season-ending surgery is still a possibility down the road, but the Tigers will allow him to remain in the lineup for now, as long as Cabrera feels healthy enough to play. Niko Goodrum and Brandon Dixon should see more time at first base as a result.