MLB Player News

Stanton isn't in the Yankees' lineup for Saturday's game against the Rockies.

After recording a home run in back-to-back games, Stanton will now get a breather against Bradley Blalock and the Rockies. Aaron Judge will fill in as New York's designated hitter while Trent Grisham starts in center field.

Ohtani went 2-for-5 with a walk-off grand slam and a stolen base in Friday's 7-3 win over the Rays.

Ohtani entered Friday one homer and one steal shy of securing his first career 40-40 season. He got the steal out of the way early, swiping second after hitting a single in the fourth inning. The 30-year-old then put together an encore worthy of Hollywood, taking Colin Poche deep for a grand slam in the ninth, Ohtani's first career walk-off homer. He became the first Dodger to join the 40-40 club, and in addition to those stellar milestone marks, he's added a .292/.378/.614 slash line with 92 RBI, 97 runs scored, 29 doubles and six triples over 126 contests this year. That said, Ohtani has found less success at the plate in August, batting .209 (18-for-86) this month, though he still has eight homers and 12 steals over his last 20 games.

Alvarez was scratched from the Astros' lineup ahead of Friday's game versus Baltimore due to neck discomfort, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The severity of Alvarez's injury remains unknown, but it is apparently enough to keep him out of Friday's series opener. While he takes a day to recover, Alex Bregman will serve as Houston's designated hitter, with Shay Whitcomb starting at third base.

Aranda (oblique) was reinstated from Triple-A Durham's 7-day injured list Wednesday and went 1-for-4 in an 11-6 win over Syracuse.

Aranda served as Durham's designated hitter in his first game in two months after completing his recovery from an oblique strain. In addition to the oblique strain, Aranda missed extended time to begin the season due to a fractured finger. The two injuries have limited him to just 45 games between Triple-A and Tampa Bay.

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Guardians.

Stanton's three-run homer was his 21st of the season and ended a 4-for-26 spell in which he hadn't collected an extra-base hit or an RBI. The 34-year-old has a slash line of .241/.301/.478 through 349 plate appearances, with each number representing his best marks since 2021.

Martinez isn't in the Mets' lineup for Thursday's game versus San Diego.

Martinez will take a seat for Thursday's series opener after going 2-for-12 with two home runs and six RBI during New York's previous series against the Orioles. His absence will allow Jesse Winker to serve as the Mets' designated hitter while batting fifth.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs and a stolen base Wednesday in an 8-4 victory over the Mariners.

Ohtani has begun to emerge from a slump that saw him bat .164 over his first 14 games in August -- he's since built a five-game hitting streak during which he's batting .300 with two homers, two RBI and five runs. The slugger has added four thefts during that span to push his total to a career-high 39 in 43 attempts. Ohtani is now one home run and one stolen base away from going 40-40 on the campaign.

The Orioles optioned Soto to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

He's clearing out to make room on the roster for Emmanuel Rivera, who has officially reported to the club after being claimed off waivers. Soto has had two brief stints with the Orioles this season but has yet to appear in a game.

The Brewers optioned Black to Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

Black will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to outfielder Blake Perkins (calf), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. After getting recalled from Nashville on Aug. 12, Black started at designated hitter in five of the Brewers' ensuing nine games while going 2-for-15 with three walks against five strikeouts. Now that Black is out of the mix, the Brewers will likely rotate a number of players at DH, with Gary Sanchez, Jake Bauers and Perkins all being candidates to see upticks in opportunities.

Fry is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

Fry is on the bench for a fourth straight matchup versus a right-handed pitcher (Gerrit Cole) and seems to have moved into a short-side platoon role while his bat has cooled down since the All-Star break. Jhonkensy Noel will occupy the designated-hitter spot Thursday, and he and Will Brennan should continue to get playing time against right-handers at Fry's expense.