MLB Player News

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Rays.

Brantley went yard in the fourth inning, tagging Blake Snell for his first home run as an Astro. He also reached base in the sixth inning on a single, but was ultimately caught stealing second base. Notably, Brantley served as the cleanup hitter even with a southpaw on the mound. If he remains in that role throughout the season, he should be in a strong position to drive in runs.

Ohtani (elbow) took batting practice on the field Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The is reports.

This is an encouraging step for Ohtani, who had been limited to hitting in the cage prior to Thursday's session. The 24-year-old will continue to ramp things up over the next month as he looks to return at some point in May.

Reyes not only is in the Padres' Opening Day starter in right field, but he's batting cleanup against Madison Bumgarner.

The surprise here is that Reyes got the start ahead of Hunter Renfroe, who was the incumbent starter. But if this holds, this is a pretty sweet spot for Reyes.

The Angels placed Ohtani (elbow) on the 10-day injured list Thursday, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Manager Brad Ausmus said earlier this month that Ohtani won't be ready to join the Angels until at least May, so the two-way player's move to the IL comes as no surprise. Ohtani, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, won't pitch this season but is expected to see steady at-bats at designated hitter once he's activated.

Pederson is leading off and starting in left field Thursday against the Diamondbacks, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

This is a best-case scenario for Pederson. We know he will sit against most lefties, but if he leads off against righties, he will be relevant in many formats. A.J. Pollock is hitting fifth against Zack Greinke.

Cespedes (heel) was officially placed on the 10-day IL, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

This move was a long time coming. It is not even a lock that Cespedes returns this season, although he said back in February that he expected to be back.

Canha may not see as much playing time at first base during Matt Olson's (hand) season-opening absence in the wake of the Wednesday acquisition of Kendrys Morales from the Blue Jays, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

In the days preceding the trade, manager Bob Melvin had indicated that Canha and Jurickson Profar would primarily split first-base duties in Olson's absence, with the latter getting the starts against right-handed pitching. Canha notably proved plenty proficient versus southpaws last season (.282 average, nine doubles, 13 home runs, .390 wOBA), while the switch-hitting Morales struggled versus that handedness (.199 average over 151 plate appearances). It's possible the plan to deploy Canha versus lefties remains largely intact, even as Morales' arrival initially adds an element of uncertainty to the entire situation.

Carpenter (back) participated in the team's full workout at Miller Park in Milwaukee on Wednesday and declared himself "one hunded percent" for Thursday's opener, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter spent the early part of the week piling up at-bats at minor-league camp in order to get his timing as sharp as possible prior to Thursday's opener. Carpenter logged only 23 Grapefruit League at-bats due to his back issues, but he's fully expected to start at third base in the opening installment of the four-game set against the Brewers.

Winker will lead off Opening Day against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Winker certainly doesn't have the speed of a traditional leadoff man, but he has the on-base skills that fit the modern requirements for the spot (career on-base percentage of .397 through 136 games). He'll be followed by a trio of quality bats in Joey Votto, Yasiel Puig and Eugenio Suarez, so he could be in line for plenty of runs in the Reds' hitter-friendly home park.

Canha went 2-for-3 with a double, a two-run home run and three RBI overall in a seven-inning exhibition win over the Giants on Tuesday.

Canha closed out the Bay Bridge series by compiling 75 percent of his team's runs on the night. The veteran is slated to split starts at first base with Jurickson Profar during Matt Olson's multi-week absence due to a hand injury. He'll head back into regular-season play hot after logging just one plate appearance in the opening two-game series versus the Mariners last week in Japan.