MLB Player News

Stanton went 2-for-5 with a double and a two-run homer in Friday's win over the Giants.

He's now regained the Marlins' team lead in homers from Marcell Ozuna with 24, and Stanton's hitting .296/.367/.667 with three homers and six RBI through the first week in July. As long as he can stay healthy in the second half, the right fielder seems poised to deliver the kind of monster power performance that's been expected of him ever since he broke into the majors as a 20-year-old in 2010.

Choi went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk Friday against the Brewers.

Choi crushed his second homer of the campaign to erase a one-run deficit for the Yankees in the fourth of a home loss. He's homered in each of his two starts since replacing the DFA'ed Chris Carter in the lineup July 5 while Greg Bird (ankle), Tyler Austin (hamstring) and Matt Holliday (illness) are all on the DL. He's a player to consider using in daily lineups while he remains hot, though his time with the Angels in 2016 would make it seem unlikely that he'll be able to maintain strong production for an extended period of time.

Blackmon went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and three runs scored during Friday's win over the White Sox.

Blackmon shifted down to the three-hole Thursday with Nolan Arenado taking a breather, but the center fielder was right back in the leadoff spot Friday. With a .318/.372/.581 slash line, 19 homers, 60 RBI, seven stolen bases and 70 runs, Blackmon is having another monster fantasy campaign.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and four RBI in Friday's 11-2 win over the Tigers.

That's now three straight multi-hit performances for Brantley, who's hitting .368 (14-for-38) with seven runs and eight RBI in 10 games since recovering from an ankle sprain.

Goins went 0-for-3, dropping his average to a dismal .207, in Friday's loss to Houston.

Goins hasn't made the most of his opportunities since taking over the bulk of work at second base for Devon Travis (knee). He hit just .192 over 52 at-bats in June, and has struck out nine times in his last seven games. Darwin Barney, his top competition, hasn't fared much better this season (.237), but it wouldn't be surprising to see manager John Gibbons move Goins into a bench role after the break.

Lewis is still dealing with knee soreness, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

Lewis was placed on the minor-league DL with soreness in his right knee in mid-June, and is still being hampered by the injury. He played a few games for Rookie-level Arizona during the previous week while on a rehab assignment, but the team will be cautious with their star prospect moving forward.

Turner is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Logan Forsythe will shift over to third base, opening the door for Chase Utley at the keystone. Turner, a first-time All-Star this year, has been red hot since his return from the DL in early June, collecting 31 hits and seven homers in his last 81 at-bats. However, the Dodgers have been sitting him once a week or so, and that figures to continue as they look to preserve his health for the stretch run.

Winker was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Winker continues to hit at every level, so he'll head to the majors to provide some outfield depth before the All-Star break. It'll be tough to get a ton of playing time given that Billy Hamilton, Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler are locked into starting roles, but he'll likely get plenty of opportunities off the bench. Sal Romano was sent back to the minors to make room on the active roster.

Vargas was recalled from Triple-A Rochester and is starting Friday against the Orioles.

Just days after he was sent packing, Vargas has returned, replacing Joe Mauer (back) on the active roster. He will man first base and bat fifth Friday against right-hander Kevin Gausman, but it's uncertain how much time Vargas will see in the immediate future. Miguel Sano has made a couple starts at first base recently, which has allowed the team to fit both Eduardo Escobar and Jorge Polanco into the lineup.

Miller (groin) was activated off the 10-day disabled list prior to Friday's game against Boston, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Miller has been out since early June with a groin strain, but looked healthy during his five rehab appearances, including a 2-for-4 game with a home run in Wednesday's Triple-A Durham outing. He is back in the lineup at second while batting sixth against the Red Sox on Friday, and should get a majority of the starts at the position, especially with Tim Beckham landing on the DL (ankle) prior to the game.