MLB Player News

Soler went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 7-4 win over the Marlins.

Soler had not homered since May 1, but he supplied an insurance run in the eighth inning of this contest. During that power drought, Soler hit .194 and slugged just .242 over 17 games while adding a 9:19 BB:K. The 33-year-old is up to seven homers, 19 RBI, 20 runs scored, 10 doubles and a .227/.301/.407 slash line across 47 games this season as the Angels' primary designated hitter. He's also seen some time in right field to put a little pressure on Jo Adell for playing time.

The bullpen session against live hitters that Ohtani (elbow) was originally scheduled to throw pregame Saturday will instead take place Sunday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.

The mound session will be a major step in Ohtani's journey to return to game action as a pitcher, as it will mark the first time he has faced hitters since he underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2023. Per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, the reason for the session moving from Saturday to Sunday is the late ending of Friday's game against the Mets, which included a 98-minute rain delay and went 13 innings, finishing just before 1:00 am ET. Ohtani went 1-for-5 with a walk and a run in the Dodgers' victory.

Manager John Schneider said Friday that he expects Santander (hip) to be back in the starting lineup Saturday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Santander appeared as a pinch hitter during the ninth inning of Friday's game and drew a walk, which supports the idea that he's healthy enough to play. The 30-year-old hasn't started a game since injuring his hip Wednesday and is slashing .216/.286/.353 across 56 plate appearances since the start of May.

Sheets went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 2-1 win over Atlanta.

Coming off a two-homer performance against the Blue Jays on Thursday, Sheets showed off his power again Friday with a solo long shot off Chris Sale in the second inning. Sheets is up to nine home runs on the season, six of which have come since the beginning of May. Over that span, he has slashed .313/.333/.627 with 10 runs scored and 17 RBI in 69 plate appearances.

Devers went 4-for-6 with two home runs, three runs scored and eight RBI in the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Orioles.

The eight RBI were a career high for the 28-year-old, as Devers took Gregory Soto deep for a three-run blast in the sixth inning before punctuating a massive 13-run eighth by the Red Sox with a grand slam off position player Emmanuel Rivera. The huge performance sent Devers soaring into the major-league lead with 47 RBI, three ahead of Aaron Judge, and the Boston slugger sports a .299/.415/.557 slash line through 52 games with 12 homers and 34 runs.

Ohtani (elbow) will face hitters in a bullpen session Saturday, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani also threw some breaking pitches in his lighter mid-week bullpen session Wednesday, Chen added. It's all a major step in his rehab from elbow surgery, and facing hitters this weekend might be the biggest step of them all to this point. The Dodgers don't anticipate Ohtani going out on a rehab assignment due to his role as a hitter and will instead build him up through simulated games. Ohtani's mound debut with the Dodgers remains to be determined.

Alvarez (hand) hit off a pitching machine in the batting cage and participated in baseball drills on the field Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez has been on the 10-day injured list since May 5 due to right hand inflammation. The recovery time has taken longer than initially hoped, and there's no clear timeline for his return, but Alvarez may not need a rehab assignment before being reinstated from the IL. He was slashing .210/.306/.340 with one steal, three home runs and 18 RBI in 121 plate appearances prior to his injury.

Santander (hip) remains out of the lineup for Friday's contest in Tampa Bay.

Santander's left hip has bothered him off-and-on over the past week, and this will be his second straight day out of the lineup after he had to exit Wednesday's game versus the Padres. George Springer will be at designated hitter for the Blue Jays on Friday, while Jonatan Clase and Nathan Lukes will hold down the corner outfield spots.

McCutchen went 1-for-2 with three walks and a run scored Thursday against the Brewers.

McCutchen is hitting only .203 across 19 games in May and has not had a multi-hit effort since April 27. While he still has a .342 on-base percentage in that span, McCutchen has been limited to only two RBI and three runs scored for the month.

Heineman went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Thursday's 7-6 win against the Padres.

Heineman continues to swing a hot bat, picking up his sixth multi-hit game Thursday. His slash line is now an impressive .396/.412/.542, albeit in a limited 51 plate appearances on the season. Despite the offensive production, the 33-year-old is firmly entrenched as the backup catcher behind Alejandro Kirk, which likely means he won't see much of an uptick in playing time.