MLB Player News

Choi went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBI in Sunday's win over Arizona.

Choi launched a two-run shot in the second inning for his third homer of the season. He was activated from the 60-day injured list Friday and went 3-for-12 during the weekend series against the Diamondbacks. Choi is slashing .159/.159/.409 this season, but he's seen just 44 plate appearances after missing nearly three months of action.

Rooker went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a steal in Sunday's loss to the Red Sox.

Rooker went deep for his second home run in as many games, launching a solo shot off Josh Winckowski in the fifth. He also secured his second stolen base of 2023, an unlikely feat considering he didn't log a steal in any of his first three MLB seasons. Over his last nine appearances, Rooker is 9-for-27 (.333) with three homers and six RBI but is striking out at a 35.4 percent clip.

Meneses went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Rangers.

Meneses finished the first half of the 2023 campaign on a high note, clobbering four home runs during Washington's three-game series against Texas. Though his outburst was certainly encouraging for his post-All-Star break prospects, Meneses had only hit two long balls prior to the series. However, he went deep 33 times in 654 plate appearances between the majors and minors last season and has a 65th-percentile hard-hit rate during the current campaign, so a more homer-laden second half may be in the forecast. Through 83 games, Meneses is slashing .284/.328/.404 and is striking out only 20.2 percent of the time.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Alvarez (oblique) will "for sure" head out on a rehab assignment shortly after the All-Star break, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Alvarez doesn't sound like he'll be an option for the Astros' first series of the second half that begins Friday in Anaheim, but if he joins a minor-league affiliate by next weekend and is able to get at least a game or two under his belt, he could be ready to return from the 10-day injured list at some point during the third week of July. The slugger has resided on the IL since June 9 due to the right oblique strain.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

After getting Saturday's game off while lefty Blake Snell toed the rubber for San Diego, the lefty-hitting Vogelbach will bow out of the starting nine Sunday with a right-hander (Joe Musgrove) on the hill for the opposition. Though Vogelbach should still have some level of security as the Mets' top designated hitter by virtue of banging out five hits across his last two starts, he'll still get select days off against righties. With Vogelbach sitting Sunday, DJ Stewart will pick up his first start with the Mets.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants will face another left-handed starter (Kyle Freeland) on Sunday, so Pederson will hit the bench for the third time in the past four games. Michael Conforto will serve as the designated hitter while Austin Slater starts in left field.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Even though the Rays will play without Josh Lowe (personal) for the second straight day to close out their first-half slate, Ramirez will remain relegated to a bench role Sunday. Ramirez has started in only two of the Rays' last six games and appears to be stuck in the short side of a platoon at designated hitter.

Harper (elbow), who is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, could be available to hit off the bench, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Harper is sitting out the Phillies' final game before the All-Star break after he was hit on his surgically repaired right elbow during Saturday's loss to Miami, but he's apparently dealing with nothing more than soreness after X-rays returned negative. The Phillies will most likely stay away from Harper if they can help it Sunday, affording him a full five days off to rest before the team opens up its post-break schedule Friday versus the Padres. According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the injury scare hasn't deterred the Phillies from getting Harper some exposure to first base at some point during the second half of the season. He's made all 56 of his starts to date as a designated hitter.

Belt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

The lefty-hitting Belt will bow out of the starting nine in the series finale with a southpaw (Tarik Skubal) on the bump for Detroit. With Belt on the bench, the Blue Jays will have room in the lineup for both of their catchers (Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk), as Jansen will draw the start at designated hitter.

Rooker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Red Sox on Saturday.

Rooker's 15th homer of the season -- a 375-foot shot to left center in the sixth inning -- marked his second time leaving the yard in July. The 28-year-old has hit safely in six of his last eight games as well, but a massive 42.3 percent strikeout rate has helped lead to just a .250 average and a .269 on-base percent during that sample.