MLB Player News

Ohtani (oblique) isn't in the Angels' lineup Friday against the Guardians, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Manager Phil Nevin said Thursday that Ohtani will return "in a day or two," and it appears the team will opt for the latter. Chad Wallach will fill in as the Angels' designated hitter Friday and bat sixth.

Belt (illness) isn't in the Blue Jays' lineup Friday against the Royals.

Friday will mark the fifth straight game Belt has missed, as he continues to fight off a stomach virus. Davis Schneider will replace Belt as Toronto's DH.

Vogelbach is not in the lineup Friday versus the Twins.

Mark Vientos will serve as the Mets' designated hitter and bat fifth with left-hander Dallas Keuchel toeing the slab for Minnesota. Vogelbach has drawn only 16 plate appearances against southpaws this year.

Buxton (knee/hamstring) will meet with members of the Twins' front office and medical staff Friday to discuss the next steps in his recovery, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

Buxton initially went on the 10-day injured list in early August with a strained right hamstring, but it was a flareup of the patella tendinitis in his right knee, which caused him to pause his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul earlier this week. The team has said Buxton didn't suffer a new injury and it's something that was somewhat expected as he attempted to play center field for the first time this year. That said, when he might re-start a rehab assignment and whether the plan is still to try him in center field likely won't become clear until after Friday's meeting.

The Dodgers activated Martinez from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's series opener at Washington, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Martinez got a couple weeks off to heal a left groin/hamstring issue that had been lingering since July. He has an .856 OPS with 25 home runs and 78 RBI in 92 games for Los Angeles.

Stanton isn't in the Yankees' lineup Friday against the Brewers.

After going just 1-for-10 with a homer in the Yankees' last series against the Tigers, Stanton will sit down for the first of three games with Milwaukee. Aaron Judge will fill in as New York's DH, allowing Jake Bauers to start in right field.

Morel is out of the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Diamondbacks.

Morel had started the last two games after being out of the lineup for the three prior contests. The Cubs are utilizing Mike Tauchman in the designated hitter spot Friday, with Cody Bellinger playing center field and Jeimer Candelario covering first base.

Ohtani (oblique) is not in Thursday's lineup against the Guardians, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani made progress Thursday, as he was spotted running in the outfield and also swung a bat for the first time since Sunday. However, he'll remain out of the lineup for the fourth straight game. Manager Phil Nevin noted that Ohtani could return to action "in a day or two."

Martinez (groin) went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and three RBI on Wednesday in his second rehab game with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Martinez kicked off his rehab assignment Tuesday, going 0-for-4 as OKC's designated hitter. He was back in the same role Wednesday and came through with a key hit for the Triple-A affiliate, clubbing an eighth-inning double that plated three runs to give OKC the lead. Martinez appears on track to be activated from the IL and return to the big-league Dodgers on Friday.

Ohtani (oblique) didn't take any swings Wednesday as he had previously hoped to do, Anthony Bautista of The Sporting News reports.

The Angels had planned for Ohtani to take a few swings in the batting cage Wednesday to test out his right oblique after he had recently been cleared of any structural damage. However, after Ohtani went to the cage to get loosened up, he ultimately decided against swinging the bat. Angels manager Phil Nevin said Wednesday there are currently no plans to place Ohtani on the injured list, so he still seems to be viewed as day-to-day. Ohtani missed his third straight game Wednesday but could have a shot at playing in Thursday's series opener versus the Guardians.