MLB Player News

Martinez was removed early from Thursday's game with tightness in his back, but manager Alex Cora expects him to play Friday, Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.

Martinez started in right field Thursday before being replaced by Brock Holt. This was the second time this week that Martinez left a game with back issues, which is something to monitor in the coming days.

Martinez was removed from Thursday's game against the Tigers with minor back tightness, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Manager Alex Cora put Brock Holt in for Martinez to start the eighth inning, but the reason behind the move wasn't made known until after the game. Martinez experienced back spasms Sunday against Houston as well, so this is the second time in a week that his back has given him trouble. Fortunately, Thursday's back issue is reportedly not as severe as what he dealt with against the Astros. Still, it'll be worth monitoring his status Friday before Boston's series opener against the White Sox.

Pederson clubbed a pair of home runs in Thursday's win over the Pirates. He finished the day 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI.

Pederson's recent surge has resulted in five home runs since Friday. His streakiness is well documented, but when Pederson is seeing the ball well, he's an excellent source of power from the left side. It's also worth noting that Pederson hit leadoff for the third time in the last eight days, including Thursday, so it seems that manager Dave Roberts is at least open to occasionally hitting Pederson in the top third of the order.

Winker went 3-for-3 with a walk-off, two-run homer against the Rockies on Thursday.

After replacing Adam Duvall, Winker produced a pair of singles before ending things with a two-run shot off Chris Rusin in the bottom of the 13th. It was just his second home run of the season after he knocked seven in 47 games last year, but Winker is starting to find a groove at the plate, notching three multi-hit efforts in the last four games . He's now slashing .263/.368/.357 through 54 games this season.

Belt (appendicitis) will report to the Giants' spring training facility in Arizona to continue his rehab, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Belt will work out in Florida for about a week before being reevaluated, and barring any setbacks, the first baseman could be cleared to rejoin the Giants in Los Angeles on June 15. The 30-year-old was hitting .307/.403/.547 with 11 homers and 31 RBI prior to undergoing surgery to have his appendix removed at the beginning of June.

Cespedes (hip) is not expected to return from the disabled list over the weekend, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Cespedes has been on the shelf since May 16 with a hip flexor strain. While he was able to run the bases with no issues earlier in the week, the Mets have all but ruled out a return during the Subway Series over the weekend. It was originally thought that Cespedes wouldn't require a rehab assignment, but it now sounds like he could report to a minor-league affiliate over the weekend for a brief rehab stint before rejoining the Mets.

Miller was designated for assignment by the Rays on Thursday, Steve Carney of 620 WDAE reports.

The Rays will search for a trade partner during the next week in order to cleanse themselves of Miller's $4.5 million contract. As previously reported, Miller's roster spot was in jeopardy due to the selection of Jake Bauers' contract from Triple-A Durham and because of his pedestrian play this season. Expect to see a deal worked out sending Miller to another organization within the coming days. Through 48 games this season, he's hit .256 with a .751 OPS.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the blister Ohtani suffered on his right middle finger during his start Wednesday against the Royals isn't as severe as the one the rookie dealt with in April, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani lasted four innings Wednesday before being pulled due to the blister, taking a no-decision while giving up one run on four hits and three walks and striking out four in the Angels' victory. The 23-year-old occasionally battled blisters during his time in Japan, so it's somewhat unsettling that he's already been removed in two outings this season on account of the same issue. Fortunately for Ohtani, the Angels don't believe the latest occurrence is cause for major concern, and if Scioscia's assessment of the situation is correct, the right-hander may not even be forced to skip a start. After leaving his April 17 outing against the Red Sox with the blister, Ohtani was cleared to take the hill the following week on his normal six days' rest. Ohtani is tentatively lined up to make his next turn June 13 in Seattle.

Canha went 3-for-4 in a loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

Canha was sporting an impressive .339 average following another 3-for-4 performance back on May 2, but an 11-for-75 slump over his subsequent 22 games had led to a 108-point drop in that figure by month's end. However, Canha has been showing signs of life again since the calendar flipped to June, as factoring in Wednesday's production, he's hitting a red-hot .429 over his first five games of the month. The outfielder's .250 average and .311 on-base percentage have plenty of room for improvement, but Canha has generated a serviceable .446 slugging percentage on the strength of 15 extra-base hits (eight doubles, seven home runs).

Manager Dave Roberts said that he held Turner out of Thursday's lineup after noticing a lack of power in his swing during Wednesday's game due to his left wrist injury, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Roberts added that it's a "day-to-day thing" with Turner and that he could be back in the starting nine for Friday's series opener against the Braves. But at the moment, Turner's left wrist continues to be an issue and Roberts didn't want to put more pressure on him with a quick night-to-day game turnaround heading into Thursday's tilt. Look for Turner to try and play Friday, but another stint on the disabled list could be looming if it's clear that his swing is still compromised.