MLB Player News

Brantley (shoulder) has again been stalled in his recovery attempts, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Brantley had been making strides in what has been a long road to recovery following labrum surgery. Nonetheless, this new setback will certainly put his chances of returning this season in serious doubt. The 29-year-old has not played since May and remains without a definitive timetable.

Buxton was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Buxton has struggled mightily in the second half, going just 6-for-46 at the plate. The move opens up a roster spot for Trevor Plouffe's (ribs) activation from the disabled list Monday. It's likely not the last we'll see of Buxton, who will head back to the minors and try to get things sorted out at the dish.

Choi is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Choi made a splash Thursday against the Athletics with a two-homer, four-RBI game, but he went quiet for the first two games of the series with the Mariners, going 0-for-6 with a walk. He still looks like the Angels' preferred option in left field, but he'll rest Sunday with lefty James Paxton starting for the opposition.

Buxton is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rays, according to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Buxton went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts over his last two games, so he will be held out Saturday in favor of Eddie Rosario, who homered Friday night and is 8-for-16 this month.

Miller went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in a 6-2 loss to the Twins on Friday.

The displaced shortstop blasted his 20th round-tripper of the season in the sixth off Ervin Santana, his third straight game with a home run. Miller has apparently taken the news of his position switch due to the arrival of Matt Duffy to heart, as he's hit safely in four straight and has five RBI over his last three contests.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double in Friday's 4-3 victory over the Mets.

Martinez is 5-for-9 (.556) with two doubles and one home run since his return from the DL on Tuesday and has now raised his batting average by 50 points (.245 to .295) since June 1. Suffice to say you need to get Martinez back into your lineup, stat.

Vargas is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rays, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports.

Vargas is out of the lineup for the third time in the past four games after going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Thursday's contest against Cleveland. Miguel Sano will hit in the DH spot for Friday's game, with Jorge Polanco taking over the hot corner.

Choi went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in Thursday's loss to the A's.

Believe it or not, Choi almost had a third home run, but Coco Crisp robbed him with a leaping catch at the wall in the bottom of the fifth inning. Choi had two home runs in 32 games entering play Thursday, and even after this performance, he's still slashing just .182/.273/.390 on the season.

Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Thursday's loss to the White Sox.

The 33-year-old continues to tear the cover off the ball -- Thursday's homer was his fourth in as many games and seventh since the All-Star break. He's been excellent since the first couple weeks of the season and remains a set-it-and-forget-it fantasy stud.

Miller went 1-for-2 with two walks and a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Royals 3-2 on Thursday afternoon.

Miller's 19th homer was his second in as many days, and the 26-year-old's fourth in the last six games. He's now hit safely in eight of nine contests to push his average to a season-high .254 through 355 at-bats. Miller was recently told that he would be moving away from shortstop to play first base. He's yet to log a game at the corner spot, but if he indeed begins to play there, then Miller could earn eligibility at first base in time for the fantasy playoffs.