MLB Player News

Ohtani is currently away from the Dodgers on paternity leave, Jack Harris of the California Post reports.

The Dodgers haven't made a roster move to place Ohtani on the paternity list, as he's expected to rejoin the team at some point this weekend, but he will be absent from the starting lineup for a day or two nonetheless while he welcomes a new addition to his family. Ryan Ward will serve as the Dodgers' designated hitter and bat seventh Friday.

Ballesteros was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Elias Schuster of SI.com reports.

Ballesteros will head to Iowa after struggling to a .128 average with one home run, seven RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base over 94 at-bats in his last 34 contests. The 22-year-old will look to hit the reset button at the Triple-A level and then get another shot with the major-league roster down the road this year.

Ozuna went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 12-4 win over the Athletics.

Prior to Wednesday's start, Ozuna hadn't gotten into a game since last Thursday. While he has gone 11-for-41 (.268) over his last 12 contests, just two of his hits in that span have gone for extra bases, and he also has a 1:14 BB:K. Ryan O'Hearn most often works as the designated hitter, leaving Ozuna as a bench bat. For the season, Ozuna is batting .198 with a .595 OPS, six homers, 24 RBI, 16 runs scored, five doubles and no stolen bases over 213 plate appearances.

Eldridge went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-5 win against Atlanta.

Eldridge continued his hot streak with a homer to center field in the second inning, going back-to-back with Luis Arraez to give the Giants a 5-0 advantage. The 21-year-old Eldridge is batting .400 with three doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI through 15 contests in June and is in the midst of an eight-game hit streak.

Yelich went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, two RBI and an additional run scored during the Brewers' 9-4 win over the Guardians on Wednesday.

Yelich launched an opposite-field leadoff homer off Gavin Williams for his fifth long ball of the season. It was Yelich's first home run since May 25, but he still batted .284 during that 17-game power drought. The 2019 NL MVP is slashing .276/.346/.429 with five homers, 24 RBI, 34 runs scored, five stolen bases and a 17:53 BB:K across 163 at-bats this season.

Ohtani (7-2) earned the win against the Rays on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts over six innings.

Ohtani allowed a season-high four earned runs, all of which came across in the fifth inning, but still managed a winning effort despite pitching through left knee inflammation. It ends a streak of three straight quality starts for the two-way superstar, though he has still completed at least six frames in 11 of 12 outings this season. He'll carry a microscopic 1.47 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 78:22 K:BB across 73.2 innings into a road matchup against the Twins next week.

Ballesteros is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Left-hander Sean Sullivan will start for the Rockies, so the Cubs will send the left-handed Ballesteros to the bench and swap a righty bat (Matt Shaw) into the lineup. The Cubs have gone out of their way to shield Ballesteros from lefties this season, with the 22-year-old having logged just eight of his 175 plate appearances against same-handed pitching.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

With the Angels sending a lefty starter (Sam Aldegheri) to the hill for the second straight day, the left-handed-hitting Smith will once again head to the bench. LuJames Groover will get the nod at first base in place of Smith.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Ohtani's left knee inflammation is not behind him and will need to be managed moving forward, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Ohtani initially hurt his knee last week and missed one game. He's started at designated hitter for the past four contests and is starting on the mound Wednesday but will not be used on offense. The knee issue does not appear to be a long-term concern for Ohtani, but he could receive extra days off for a bit.

Schwarber went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 8-2 win over the Marlins.

With Tuesday's solo shot, Schwarber became the first player in the major leagues this season to slug 25 home runs. The All-Star slugger also started at first base, marking just his second appearance at the position this year and his first since 2021 with the Red Sox. Schwarber is batting .249 with 35 extra-base hits, 43 RBI, 46 walks and 44 runs scored across 315 plate appearances in 2026.