MLB Player News

Miller will start at second base and bat eighth Saturday against the Twins, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

With Jason Kipnis (calf) opening the season on the injured list, Miller has stepped in as the primary option at second base, at least in games in which the Tribe faces right-handed pitching. Miller will stick in the lineup for the second straight game after going 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts in Thursday's Opening Day loss.

Martinez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 7-6 victory against the Mariners on Friday.

The Mariners jumped out to a 6-1 lead by the end of the fourth, but the Red Sox slowly chipped away. Martinez' blast pulled Boston within three in the sixth. Martinez has hit at least 43 homers in each of the last two years, and at 31, there doesn't seem to be any signs of Martinez slowing down any time soon.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Friday's loss to Tampa Bay.

Brantley plated the game's first two runs in the third inning on a double to right field, although the Rays would rally and ultimately come away with the victory. He's gotten off to a strong start at the dish over the first two contests of the 2019 campaign and is now 4-for-8 with a home run and three RBI out of the cleanup spot.

Choi went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Friday's 4-2 victory over the Astros.

Choi came through with a clutch base hit in the third inning, plating a pair of runs on a single to center. After struggling to find playing time at the big-league level in three previous organizations, the 27-year-old is expected to see plenty of opportunities in the designated hitter slot and at first base for Tampa Bay in 2019.

Jimenez saw just four fastballs over the 17 pitches in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the the Royals, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports. He went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to earn his first RBI.

Jimenez struck out in his first two at-bats and was thrown a lot of offspeed stuff. "We saw it a little bit early in camp when he was pressing a little bit, some of the way pitchers were attacking him was a little bit different from what he had seen before," said general manager Rick Hahn. "He's going to have to make some adjustments along the way. If he does get off to a hot start, they are going to quickly adjust to him and then the game of cat and mouse is going to be on." Jimenez will be the everyday left fielder and be given plenty of at-bats to make those adjustments Hahn refers to.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Rays.

Brantley went yard in the fourth inning, tagging Blake Snell for his first home run as an Astro. He also reached base in the sixth inning on a single, but was ultimately caught stealing second base. Notably, Brantley served as the cleanup hitter even with a southpaw on the mound. If he remains in that role throughout the season, he should be in a strong position to drive in runs.

Ohtani (elbow) took batting practice on the field Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The is reports.

This is an encouraging step for Ohtani, who had been limited to hitting in the cage prior to Thursday's session. The 24-year-old will continue to ramp things up over the next month as he looks to return at some point in May.

The Angels placed Ohtani (elbow) on the 10-day injured list Thursday, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Manager Brad Ausmus said earlier this month that Ohtani won't be ready to join the Angels until at least May, so the two-way player's move to the IL comes as no surprise. Ohtani, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, won't pitch this season but is expected to see steady at-bats at designated hitter once he's activated.

Canha may not see as much playing time at first base during Matt Olson's (hand) season-opening absence in the wake of the Wednesday acquisition of Kendrys Morales from the Blue Jays, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

In the days preceding the trade, manager Bob Melvin had indicated that Canha and Jurickson Profar would primarily split first-base duties in Olson's absence, with the latter getting the starts against right-handed pitching. Canha notably proved plenty proficient versus southpaws last season (.282 average, nine doubles, 13 home runs, .390 wOBA), while the switch-hitting Morales struggled versus that handedness (.199 average over 151 plate appearances). It's possible the plan to deploy Canha versus lefties remains largely intact, even as Morales' arrival initially adds an element of uncertainty to the entire situation.

Canha went 2-for-3 with a double, a two-run home run and three RBI overall in a seven-inning exhibition win over the Giants on Tuesday.

Canha closed out the Bay Bridge series by compiling 75 percent of his team's runs on the night. The veteran is slated to split starts at first base with Jurickson Profar during Matt Olson's multi-week absence due to a hand injury. He'll head back into regular-season play hot after logging just one plate appearance in the opening two-game series versus the Mariners last week in Japan.