MLB Player News

Martinez went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run Thursday against the White Sox.

Martinez took Thyago Vieira deep in the ninth inning to record his 39th home run of the season. The long ball pulled him into a tie for the most homers in baseball, deadlocking him with Khris Davis. At this point, he's all but guaranteed to post his second consecutive 40-homer season and he's producing in an elite way in every statistic besides stolen bases.

Stanton went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer, a walk and two runs scored in Thursday's 8-7 loss to the Tigers.

Stanton recorded his 300th career home run in the third inning as he put the Yankees ahead early. Prior to Thursday's matchup, he'd gone 10 games (38 at-bats) without a homer. Stanton is slashing .277/.351/.525 with an .876 OPS through 133 games this season.

McCutchen was traded from the Giants to the Yankees on Thursday in exchange for two minor-league prospects, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

McCutchen figures to bolster New York's outfield, as he'll likely draw starts in right field until Aaron Judge (wrist) is healthy enough to return from the disabled list. It's currently unclear who the Yankees had to give up in exchange for the 31-year-old outfielder, but Abigail Avelino is believed to be one of the pieces involved in the deal, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Manager Mike Scioscia said Ohtani (elbow) will start Sunday against the Astros, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Ohtani has been limited to just hitting after suffering a UCL sprain in early June, but the two-way star has been cleared to make his return to the rotation after checking out OK following a 50-pitch simulated game earlier in the week. The 24-year-old will likely be on a pitch count Sunday as the Angels figure to handle him with extreme caution down the stretch. Prior to suffering the injury, Ohtani compiled a solid 3.10 ERA and 61:20 K:BB across nine starts (49.1 innings).

Even though Buxton is hitting 18-for-48 (.375) with nine extra-base hits since being activated from the DL at Triple-A Rochester, he may not be called up to the majors when rosters expand in September. "Our focus should exclusively be on what we think is the best for Byron long-term, and that's where it's going to be," Derek Falvey, the Twins' chief baseball officer, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Buxton has had an injury-plagued season that included missing time due to migraines, a broken toe and a wrist injury. He's finally starting to play better at Triple-A and the Twins may want him to finish the season on a run of success. Keeping Buxton in the minors would keep his service time below the threshold where he'd be a free agent after the 2022 season rather than 2021. Falvey said service time was not a consideration for calling him up, however. Buxton could be an impact fantasy player in September due to his speed on the bases, but it's not a given he'll be with the Twins.

Choi is out of the lineup for the second straight day Wednesday in Atlanta, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi can play first base, but has appeared exclusively as a designated hitter since joining the Rays. Wednesday is the second game in a two-game series, so Choi could return to the lineup Friday in Cleveland.

Ohtani is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Rockies.

Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI during Monday's series-opening win over the Rockies, but he'll head to the bench for Tuesday's contest with a lefty (Kyle Freeland) starting for Colorado. Albert Pujols will serve as the designated hitter, allowing Jefry Marte to start at first base.

Lewis went 3-for-4 with a solo home run Monday in Double-A Arkansas' 7-0 win over Northwest Arkansas.

While he turned in a solid performance Monday, Lewis has largely struggled since making the move to the Texas League in late July, batting just .200/.262/.327 across 122 plate appearances. Despite Lewis' struggles, the Mariners are likely just content the 2016 first-round pick is healthy again after a torn ACL suffered two summers ago robbed him of nearly a year of development time. With some more time to get consistent at-bats and become acclimated to facing higher-level pitching, the 23-year-old's plus power could begin showing up more regularly.

Choi is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Braves, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi will take a seat on the bench with no designated hitter spot available in Atlanta's National League ballpark. With the Rays playing in Atlanta on Wednesday as well, Choi could find himself out of the lineup until Friday's series opener against the Indians. He'll be available off the bench.

Soler (toe) served as the designated hitter for Triple-A Omaha in his first rehab game Monday, finishing 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI and three strikeouts.

Soler saw the field for the first time since June 15 after an extended recovery from a fractured toe. Because he hasn't seen consistent at-bats for two-plus months, Soler will likely require multiple games in the minors to get his timing back before making his way back to the big club at some point in early September. According to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com, the Royals aren't expected to use Soler in the outfield upon reinstating him 60-day disabled list, so the 26-year-old will presumably be used exclusively as a DH during his rehab assignment.