MLB Player News

Jimenez (ankle) could begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Jimenez sprained his ankle last week but is already making encouraging progress in his recovery. The outfielder took batting practice with a brace on his ankle Wednesday before hitting off a tee Thursday. If he continues to progress without setbacks, Jimenez may not be forced to miss much more than the minimum amount of time.

Choi is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With southpaw Danny Duffy on the mound for Kansas City, Choi and fellow lefty-hitting regular Kevin Kiermaier will hit the bench in the series finale as the Rays stock up on extra right-handed bats. Choi started in both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader loss, going 0-for-4 in the early game and 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the nightcap.

Winker will bat leadoff and start in left field Thursday against the Mets.

The 25-year-old will get his first look atop the lineup since April 14, presumably as a result of Joey Votto resting more than anything else. The Reds should use their more traditional starting nine in Friday's series opener against the Giants, so Winker likely will will shift down to the No. 3 or 4 spot in the lineup for that contest.

Blackmon went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, two runs and a walk in Colorado's 11-4 win over the Brewers on Wednesday.

Blackmon has found his stroke after a slow start, as he's now hit safely in 16 out of 18 games since April 12. The strong recent run of form has boosted the 32-year-old's slash line up to .280/.341/.464 to go along with three homers and 16 RBI over 125 at-bats.

Soler went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a double in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Rays.

Soler went 0-for-3 in Game 1 but came alive early in Game 2, as he did all his damage through the first three innings. The 27-year-old has endured a slow start to the season and is slashing .231/.283/.479 with seven home runs and 19 RBI in 31 games.

Ozuna went 3-for-4 with a walk, double, RBI and two runs scored Wednesday against Washington.

Ozuna played a big role in the Cardinals' offense Wednesday, reaching base four times and also doubling in a run. He has benefited from hitting in the cleanup role, racking up 29 RBI for the season and 13 across his last 10 games. After a down power season in 2018, Ozuna is slugging .635 through 119 plate appearances.

Ohtani (elbow) told reporters Wednesday that he feels ready to return, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Despite Ohtani feeling ready to rejoin the lineup, the Angels are understandably taking a cautious approach with the two-way star; they've already stated that he won't travel to Mexico this weekend for the team's two-game series against the Astros, as they want him to get more plate appearances in a controlled setting before bringing him back. The original plan was for Ohtani to get around 40 plate appearances in before returning, and he's sitting at 32 after taking seven at-bats Wednesday.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Giants.

Pederson will stick on the bench for a second straight game with another southpaw in Madison Bumgarner toeing the rubber for the Giants. In his stead, Chris Taylor is starting in left field and hitting eighth.

Brantley is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Twins, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley will give way to Aledmys Diaz in left field Wednesday as the Astros go with an all right-handed-hitting lineup against southpaw Martin Perez. Through 30 games this season, Brantley is slashing .331/.380/.517 with five homers and three stolen bases.

Brantley went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk and two runs Tuesday in the Astros' 11-0 win over the Twins.

Brantley was one of four Astros to turn in a multi-hit performance in the team's top scoring performance of the season. The 31-year-old has thus far avoided the health issues that often plagued him in Cleveland and has fit in seamlessly as Houston's cleanup hitter with a career-high .897 OPS through 30 games.