MLB Player News

Miller is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Arizona, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Tampa Bay will opt for Taylor Motter at shortstop, giving Miller a night to rest. Motter, who traditionally performs better against lefties, will start against the right-hander Archie Bradley.

Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Tuesday that Brantley (shoulder) is without a timetable for a return, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. "There's nothing new," Antonetti said. "We've tried to be transparent with it. We don't have a definitive timetable. We need to work off Michael and how he responds to activities. We'll continue to do that."

Antonetti echoed manager Terry Francona's sentiment from Monday; basically that Brantley has had no setbacks in his recovery, and the team isn't sure when he'll be back. A Yahoo Sports report from Monday suggested there is "serious concern" within the organization that Brantley could miss significant time. Antonetti said it's not the team's expectation that Brantley will miss a big part of the season. "But we don't have a crystal ball," he added.

Manager Terry Francona was noncommittal when asked about an earlier report that Brantley (shoulder) could miss a significant amount of time, the Indians' official site reports. "We've been really forthright in saying that the timetable is on him getting better," Francona said. "Absolutely there's been no setbacks. Nothing's changed."

The Indians have taken a cautious approach with Brantley, who's just recently started to work in some light swinging in his recovery. There's never been a firm timetable for a return, and although it doesn't sound like he's experienced a setback, there's still a lot of uncertainty around his recovery progress.

Miller is out of Monday's lineup against the Diamondbacks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Miller continues to sit in favor of Taylor Motter against left-handed pitching like Arizona's Monday starter Robbie Ray. The lefty is hitting .245/.306/.427 against right-handed pitching with four of his five home runs, but owns just a .233/.258/.467 line against lefties. Although Motter has yet to find a groove, this platoon hasn't shown any sign of letting up just yet.

Brantley (shoulder) could miss a significant amount of time, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

Brantley has been on the 15-day DL since May 14; the Indians were hoping he could be ready in mid-June, but that optimism seems to have faded. No specifics regarding his timetable for return have been released, but more information should be released soon.

Buxton went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in Sunday's game against the Rays.

The heavily-hyped young outfielder has struggled for much of his time in the Major Leagues, but he seems to be figuring things out at the plate, as he has hit at a .435 clip with three runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base during his six-game hitting streak since being promoted. He notably also went without a strikeout for just the third time this season. The sample size is small, but the fact that Buxton is enjoying his first taste of success at this level bears watching from fantasy owners.

Martinez went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, three RBI and two runs in the 7-4 victory over the White Sox on Saturday.

The right fielder is now 4-for-7 with four RBI in the series and has 12 homers, 33 RBI and 32 runs this season. Martinez did have eight home runs in May, but after hitting .229 in the month, it's nice to see the slugger record two multi-hit games in the first few days of June.

Cabrera (back) is back in the lineup for Saturday's game against the White Sox, batting third and playing first base.

There was some concern about Cabrera's status heading into Saturday after he left Friday's contest with some lower-back tightness, but the All-Star will play through the ailment and start at first base against Chris Sale and the White Sox. Cabrera has struggled in his career against Sale, notching an 8-for-33 mark against the ace.

Buxton went 2-for-4 with a triple in Friday's loss to Tampa Bay. He's 5-for-15 in four games since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Buxton is still striking out too much as he has five strikeouts and no walks in his last four games. His last few games should keep him in the lineup, but ultimately he's going to need to make more contact to succeed in the majors.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run in Friday's 10-3 victory over the White Sox.

The 28-year-old outfielder recorded his first multi-hit game since May 22 and has four RBI in the last four contests. Martinez is still trying to find a consistent rhythm at the plate this season, as his current .249 average is considerably behind what he hit in 2014 (.315) and 2015 (.282).