MLB Player News

Canha (back) will face live pitching Thursday and could be back in the lineup as early as Friday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

While the A's are taking Canha's recovery slowly, he's progressing well and Thursday could mark the final phase in his rehab, assuming he doesn't suffer some sort of setback.

Stanton (knee) is on track to start for the Marlins on Sunday, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

Stanton has been held out of action since early this week due to a knee ailment, but was able to take some swings and return to light running by Tuesday. If all goes according to plan, Miami should have their most formidable power threat available for spring action before the weekend comes to pass. Fortunately, this doesn't appear to be an issue that poses a risk of lingering into the regular season.

Brantley (shoulder) is expected to take live batting practice Friday or Saturday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. "Friday or Saturday he should be on the field for BP," said manager Terry Francona. "That is kind of the target. He's been flying through everything so well; I'd be surprised if he doesn't."

Brantley's made remarkable progress but is still pegged to open the season on the DL. If he continues to press forward in his recovery he could begin to push his return date forward so being ready for Opening Day can't be completely ruled out given his progress thus far.

Ruf went 2-for-2 with two home runs and three RBI Wednesday against the Orioles.

Ruf has now homered three times in two games. His homers Wednesday came off righties Yovani Gallardo and Vance Worley. He is expected to open the year on the short side of a platoon with Ryan Howard at first base.

Canha (back) will run the bases Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reports.

This is the last major hurdle for Canha before he returns to action. The team hopes he can get into a game by this weekend, and he should be ready to occupy the short side of a first base platoon when the season begins.

Belt (illness) will return to the lineup Wednesday, CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reports.

He was dealing with a sinus infection, but should now be considered fully healthy for the final three weeks of spring games. Belt will look to improve on last year's career-high 18 homers in his age-28 season this year.

Canha (back) will do all of his normal activities before Tuesday's spring game, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Canha won't play in Tuesday's game but should return by the end of the week. He's not a lock to make the Opening Day roster, as Oakland boasts impressive depth in the outfield.

Stanton (knee) hit in a cage Tuesday and also did some light running, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

Stanton was held out of Monday's spring game and could miss a few more contests, but he's merely considered day-to-day due to soreness in his knee. More important, there haven't been any reported issues with the left wrist that didn't recover from surgery as quickly as expected last season. Now more than eighth months removed from the procedure, Stanton has been swinging a bat without any pain since at least November or December.

Buxton went 1-for-3 in Monday's spring training win over Baltimore. He's 2-for-10 in four games this spring.

Buxton is the leading candidate to start in center field and will likely win the job unless he really struggles this spring. If Buxton begins the season in the minors, the Twins could begin the season with Danny Santana as a stopgap or move Eddie Rosario to center field. However, so far all the talk from management is of Buxton winning the role.

Brantley (shoulder) could be taking live batting practice swings by the weekend, MLB.com reports. "It was all according to plan, which is all good," manager Terry Francona said regarding Brantley's examination Sunday. "There's no red flags, nothing. He just got a really good report."

Brantley and the Indians still haven't formulated the plans around his Cactus League debut and he's still looking at a mid-April return at this point but it's been nothing but positive news thus far for Brantley in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.