MLB Player News

Ohtani will bat third and serve as the designated hitter in his first game back from Tommy John surgery.

Ohtani will slot in between Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons. He'll be limited to DH duties this season as his arm is still not ready for pitching. The 24-year-old will look to improve on his excellent .285/.361/.564 line from his rookie season as he focuses on just one side of the ball.

Ohtani (elbow) has been activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

Ohtani was scheduled to be evaluated again Tuesday to determine his status moving forward, and he's evidently passed his examination with flying colors. The Angels have yet to release their starting lineup, but it's likely that Ohtani will make his return in the series opener out of the designated hitter slot.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and a walk Monday in Triple-A Round Rock's 6-5 win over San Antonio.

The long ball was Alvarez's 13th of the season, tying Reds farmhand Josh VanMeter for the Triple-A lead. With a monstrous 1.401 OPS and 18:22 BB:K mark through 121 plate appearances, the 21-year-old continues to build a strong case for a promotion to the big leagues, but the Astros would likely have to make some tough personnel choices in order to make room for him. As Jake Kaplan of The Athletic notes, the Astros would likely have to sell low on either Tony Kemp or Tyler White to make room for Alvarez, unless an injury intervenes. Both Kemp and White are out of minor-league options and would likely be lost to another club via trade or waivers if either is booted from the 40-man roster.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.

The Mariners will go with Jay Bruce as their designated hitter in the series opener, relegating the lefty-swinging Vogelbach to a bench role while southpaw CC Sabathia toes the rubber for New York. Vogelbach has opened plenty of eyes with a 1.119 OPS this season but has yet to solve lefties, who have limited him to two hits in 18 plate appearances.

Ohtani (elbow) will travel to Detroit ahead of the Angels' three-game series with the Tigers. The Angels plan to assess Ohtani's condition prior to Tuesday's game before providing an update on his availability.

The Angels have been coy regarding a target date for Ohtani's season debut, but comments Sunday from general manager Billy Eppler suggest it will happen at some point during the team's road trip. With Ohtani having recently completed the 40 plate appearances against live pitching the Angels said would be necessary before he returned, the team will have doctors take a look at the 24-year-old's elbow before a next step is determined. If nothing concerning turns up during the evaluation, it's possible Ohtani enters the lineup Tuesday as the Angels' designated hitter.

Brantley went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, a double and two runs scored in Sunday's 10-4 win over the Angels.

Brantley clocked his two-run shot in the ninth inning to give Houston a 10-4 lead just for good measure. The first-year Astro started April by going 0-for-15 in his first four games. Since then, he's gone 39-for-103 with 14 extra-base hits and 20 RBI.

General manager Billy Eppler wouldn't specify when Ohtani (elbow) might return from the 10-day injured list, but he noted he's "hopeful" the 24-year-old would be available at some point during the Angels' road trip that begins Tuesday in Detroit, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani faced another round of live pitching Sunday and appears to have reached the approximately 40 competitive plate appearances the Angels said he would require prior to being activated. Before departing for Detroit, the Angels will presumably reassess the condition of Ohtani's right elbow and then determine whether or not he's ready to make his 2019 debut. It's unlikely the Angels will ask Ohtani to play on an everyday basis upon being reinstated -- at least not right away -- so even if he joins the lineup Tuesday, it might be best for fantasy managers in most leagues to continue stashing him on the bench or in an injured list spot this week.

Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Indians on Saturday.

The slugger took Carlos Carrasco deep in the fourth inning, a 392-foot shot to right that served as his ninth round tripper of the campaign. Vogelbach has been in a modest slump of late -- factoring in Saturday's production, he's 3-for-16 over his last seven games -- and the homer was his first since April 20.

Brantley went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, four RBI and one run scored Saturday against the Angels.

Brantley's big contribution came on a two-run homer -- his sixth home run of the year -- off Trevor Cahill in the third inning, and he added a two-run double in the fifth inning. Brantley has had no trouble adjusting to his new team, hitting .333/.380/.540 across 137 plate appearances.

Cabrera went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 4-3 win over the Royals.

All three hits were singles, which has basically been the story of Cabrera's season so far. The veteran is batting .295 with a .365 on-base percentage, but he's slugging just .366, which would be a career worst. Cabrera can certainly still hit, though the 36-year-old shouldn't be expected to produce the same kind of power numbers that he did when he was younger.