MLB Player News

Winker (quad/back) is on the Brewers' roster for their NL Wild Card Series matchup versus the Diamondbacks.

Winker missed the final two months of the regular season due to back and quad injuries, but he has suddenly reemerged -- likely as a pinch-hitting option against righties -- for this best-of-three series against Arizona. The 30-year-old left-handed hitter owns a career .853 OPS versus right-handed pitching.

Buxton (knee) has been left off the Twins' AL Wild Card Series roster, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Things were trending in this direction, as Buxton was not present for the Twins' workout Monday. He hasn't played with the big club since early August while dealing with a hamstring injury and more recently an aggravation of his knee issue. Buxton could potentially be added to the Twins' roster should they advance to the ALDS, although the former wouldn't seem to be a given.

Garver is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's AL Wild Card Series opener against the Rays.

Garver was the Rangers' primary designated hitter down the stretch but will begin Game 1 versus the Rays on the bench. Manager Bruce Bochy has decided he likes the matchup of Robbie Grossman against Tyler Glasnow better.

Buxton (knee) did not participate during the Twins' on-field workout Monday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

It seems likely that Buxton probably did some stuff out of the public view Monday, but he was not part of the workout with his teammates. Buxton has been sidelined since early August with a hamstring injury and more recently a flare-up with his knee issue. His inclusion on the Twins' AL Wild Card Series roster has to be considered a major question mark at this point.

Rooker went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Angels.

Rooker capped off his 2023 campaign on a strong note by going perfect at the plate and hitting his 30th home run of the season. The 28-year-old began the year as one of the hottest hitters in baseball before having a brutal hitting stretch during May and June. He maintained more of a steady approach after the All-Star break, slashing .246/.313/.403 with 14 homers, 25 RBI, 29 runs and a 16:80 BB:K in 223 plate appearances. Rooker was one of the few bright spots for a struggling A's team and could be a trade piece for them in the offseason.

Belt went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Sunday's 12-8 loss to the Rays.

Belt's eighth inning home run was his third long ball over his last four games. Since May 4, the 35-year-old leads the Blue Jays with a .934 OPS and closes out the regular season with a strong slash line of .254/.369/.490 with 19 homers, 43 RBI, 53 runs and a 61:141 BB:K in 404 plate appearances. He'll figure to be in the lineup Tuesday when the Blue Jays open up the playoffs against Pablo Lopez and the Twins.

Ozuna went 2-for-3 with two homers, a walk and four RBI in Sunday's 10-9 loss to the Nationals.

Ozuna got his day going with a three-run blast in the third before sending out his 40th home run of the season in the ninth. Ozuna finished with seven RBI over the final two games of the year and ends the regular season with 100 RBI for the first time since 2017. Ozuna also reached 40 homers for the first time in his career and has had a tremendous bounce back campaign. The 32-year-old heads into the playoffs slashing .274/.346/.558. His .904 OPS and .284 ISO were both his highest marks since the shortened 2020 season.

Harper is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

The veteran slugger didn't start Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader and will sit again Sunday for the final game of the regular season with the Phillies looking toward the playoffs. Harper is likely to close the campaign with a .293/.401/.499 slash line, 21 homers, 11 steals, 72 RBI and 84 runs in 126 games.

Stanton is not in Sunday's lineup against the Royals.

He will likely end up not getting an at-bat during the final series of the season, as New York is giving most of the at-bats to the less proven position players on the roster. Stanton did not have a multi-hit game in September and hit .136 with four home runs, seven runs and nine RBI in 68 at-bats during the month.

Ramirez went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and two runs scored in Saturday's victory over the Blue Jays.

Ramirez singled in his first two at-bats and came around to score Tampa Bay's second run of the game on a Josh Lowe double in the third. The outfielder then launched a two-run shot in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 4-4, marking just his third home since June 8. Ramirez has now recorded multiple hits in two of his last four games, driving in four runs over that stretch.