MLB Player News
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Miguel Cabrera DH | DET
Tigers' Miguel Cabrera: Not in Thursday's lineup
Cabrera is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Royals.
Cabrera finished out the completion of Wednesday's suspended game earlier in the day Thursday, but he'll start on the bench for the regularly-scheduled contest. The future Hall of Famer is expected to start all three games this weekend versus the Guardians before riding off into retirement.
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Brent Rooker DH | ATH
Athletics' Brent Rooker: Productive in Wednesday's loss
Rooker went 1-for-4 with a two-run single and a stolen base in a loss to the Twins on Wednesday.
Rooker made good use of the one at-bat he hit safely in, plating Ryan Noda and Aledmys Diaz to snap a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning. The slugger also added to his career-best stolen-base total with his fourth pilfer of the campaign after not having logged a single steal attempt over his previous three major league seasons. Rooker has also now reached safely in nine straight games and 10 consecutive starts, producing a .314/.368/.743 slash line in the 38 plate appearances he's recorded over the latter span.
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Yordan Alvarez DH | HOU
Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Pummels another homer
Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Mariners.
Alvarez's homer was his third in the last four games and his 31st of the year. The slugger's blast went to deep center field to tie the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning. He's up to a .293/.409/.591 slash line with 97 RBI, 76 runs scored and 24 doubles through 111 contests this season.
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Bryce Harper 1B | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Three extra-base hits in win
Harper went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a solo home run and a stolen base in Wednesday's 7-6 win over Pittsburgh.
After logging a pair of doubles earlier in the game, Harper provided the eventual winning run with a 427-foot homer off Jose Hernandez in the seventh inning. The 30-year-old Harper has been on fire down the stretch, going 9-for-18 with a pair of homers in his last six games. He's boosted his slash line to .296/.402/.503 with 21 homers, 84 runs scored, 72 RBI and 11 steals across 540 plate appearances this season.
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Jorge Soler DH | LAA
Marlins' Jorge Soler: Idle for nightcap
Soler isn't in the Marlins' lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mets, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
After an 0-for-4 performance to begin the day, Soler will ride the pine to begin the second game of Wednesday's twin bill. Jake Burger will serve as Miami's DH while Jon Berti starts at third base.
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Christopher Morel 1B | NYM
Cubs' Christopher Morel: Out of Wednesday's lineup
Morel is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.
Morel will sit Wednesday while stuck in a 3-for-26 slump, though he did hit two solo homers during that stretch. Jeimer Candelario (back) is starting at first base in his return from the injured list while Miles Mastrobuoni mans the hot corner.
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Jonathan Aranda 1B | TB
Rays' Jonathan Aranda: Three hits in win
Aranda went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored in Tuesday's victory over the Red Sox.
It was an encouraging performance from Aranda, who began the day in a 2-for-28 (.071) slump with no extra-base hits in that span. The 25-year-old infielder is now slashing .211/.330/.316 with just one homer, 12 runs scored and seven RBI through 91 plate appearances on the campaign. While he won't offer much offensively, Aranda should see fairly regular at-bats against right-handed pitching with Brandon Lowe (knee) out.
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Byron Buxton CF | MIN
Twins' Byron Buxton: Moves workouts to Minneapolis
Buxton (knee) will work out with the Twins this week with the minor-league season over as Minnesota evaluates him for a possible addition to the postseason roster, MLB.com reports. He went 1-for-8 during two games at Triple-A St. Paul last weekend.
It seems unlikely he'll be activated from the injured list ahead of the playoffs, especially with the Twins playing their final series on the road in Colorado. Buxton's last rehab stint in early September was shut down after two games due to a flareup of the patella tendinitis in his right knee. It's encouraging he made it through two games over the weekend without a setback, but he didn't play in the field and didn't get much work due to a rainout in St. Paul. He may not be activated for the postseason roster as a result. It's hard to see how the Twins could elect to use him in center field in the playoffs even though that was probably the plan when his first rehab stint started in early September.
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J.D. Martinez DH | NYM
Dodgers' J.D. Martinez: Takes seat for nightcap
Martinez is out of the lineup for the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Rockies.
Max Muncy will take a turn in the DH role as Chris Taylor handles third base. Martinez went 1-for-4 with a single and two strikeouts in the opening game of the twin bill at Coors Field.
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Brandon Belt DH | TOR
Blue Jays' Brandon Belt: Returns from injured list
Belt (back) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The veteran slugger landed on the shelf Sept. 12 with back spasms just after missing the previous eight games due to an illness, but he's now ready to rejoin the Blue Jays for the final stretch of the regular season. Belt had a strong start to the second half with a .971 OPS in his first 30 games coming out of the All-Star break, but he was mired in a 3-for-18 slump prior to his move to the injured list.