MLB Player News

Ohtani is expected to make his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Tigers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels are listing Tyler Skaggs, Nick Tropeano and Andrew Heaney as their other probable starters for the four-game series with Detroit, with Wednesday's assignment the only unfilled opening. Assuming Ohtani completes a bullpen session Monday without issue, he'll likely be formally cleared to take the hill Wednesday for the first time since May 20. The Angels opted to shut Ohtani down temporarily to keep his workload in check rather than out of any concern about his health, so fantasy owners shouldn't have any reservations about keeping him active during the upcoming week. Ohtani has posted a 2.25 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and a 26:5 K:BB across 20 innings over his last three outings.

Brantley went 2-for-5 with one walk and one RBI in Sunday's win over the Astros.

Brantley was part of a four-run ninth inning rally that sent the game into extra innings. He came through with an RBI single that drove in the tying run. The 31-year-old left fielder is hitting .335 with eight home runs and 34 RBI, and he's in the midst of a 16-game hitting streak. Brantley will look to keep it rolling Monday against the White Sox.

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said that Cabrera (hamstring) could be activated from the 10-day disabled list at some point during the team's nine-game homestand, which begins Monday against the Angels, Tyler Fenwick of MLB.com reports.

Cabrera took batting practice and performed some fielding drills on the field Sunday, but he wasn't spotted doing any running. Gardenhire said that Cabrera, who ran Friday and Saturday, would need to run on four consecutive days before the Tigers bring him off the 10-day disabled list. If that plan still holds, the first baseman could realistically return as soon as Friday, assuming he starts his running program back up Monday. Cabrera has been sidelined since May 3 with the right hamstring strain, so ensuring that he's able to run without any discomfort is a valid concern for the Tigers.

The Mariners optioned Vogelbach to Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday, TJ Cotterill of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

As a lightly used reserve first baseman/designated hitter, Vogelbach was a prime candidate to surrender his spot on the active roster after the Mariners acquired Alex Colome and Denard Span from the Rays on Friday. Vogelbach appeared in three games during his latest stint with the Mariners, going 1-for-6 with three walks and a run scored.

Buxton (head) will start in center field and bat ninth Sunday against the Mariners, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It appeared that Buxton might have suffered yet another medical setback after he was removed from Saturday's game against the Mariners shortly after colliding with the outfield wall at full speed while tracking a flyball. Fortunately for the Twins, Buxton exhibited no concussion symptoms upon being examined by team trainers, coming away from the incident with little more than a cut above his eye. With Buxton experiencing no unexpected soreness upon reporting to the ballpark Sunday, manager Paul Molitor had no qualms about inserting the outfielder back into the lineup.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a run in a win over the Pirates on Saturday.

Ozuna's emergence continues, as he's now rapped out multiple hits in four of the last five games and on eight occasions overall during May. Since May 2, the slugging outfielder has pushed his season average up 22 points to .265, a figure that still has plenty of room for improvement, but that is trending in the right direction.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in a win over the Pirates on Saturday.

Carpenter got the Cardinals jump-started by leading off the game with a 417-foot shot to left, his third round tripper of May. The veteran has made significant strides at the plate during the latter half of the month, raising his season average 46 points to .206 since May 16 by slashing .390/.432/.707 over 44 plate appearances in a 10-game sample.

Cespedes (hip) could begin a minor-league rehab assignment near the end of the week, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Manager Mickey Callaway reported Sunday that Cespedes is a few days behind teammate Todd Frazier (hamstring) in his recovery timeline and that Frazier is expected to go out on a rehab assignment in the next few days. With that information, it sounds like Cespedes may begin his assignment by the end of the week and could rejoin the Mets during the late first or early second week of June if everything goes according to plan.

Miller will start at first base and lead off Sunday against the Orioles.

Miller will hit out of the leadoff spot for the third consecutive contest with the trade of Denard Span to the Mariners creating an opening at the top of the order. With a 1-for-8 showing at the plate through his first two games in the table-setting role, Miller has yet to prove himself worthy of the assignment, so the Rays could begin considering other leadoff options in their subsequent contests.

Martinez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Braves, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The Red Sox's decision Friday to remove Hanley Ramirez from the 40-man roster should limit Martinez almost exclusively to designated-hitter duties going forward, but manager Alex Cora evidently felt the slugger could benefit from a day off in the series finale nonetheless. With Martinez on the pine Sunday after going 2-for-19 over his previous five starts, Rafael Devers will serve as Boston's DH, thereby opening up third base for Eduardo Nunez.