MLB Player News

Brantley has been shut down from baseball activities due to continued issues with his surgically repaired right shoulder, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that Brantley's recovery had plateaued and now the club has made the decision to shut him down for a while. The 36-year-old had shoulder labrum surgery last August and has experienced numerous setbacks on his road to recovery. His timetable to return is open-ended.

Ford went 2-for-3 with a walk in a win over the Giants on Monday.

While Ford didn't connect for anything more impactful than a single, his performance is noteworthy in that it extends what has been a torrid stretch at the plate for the journeyman. Factoring in Monday's production, the slugger owns a .391 average, 1.114 OPS, two home runs, six RBI, three walks and three runs over his last eight games, a stretch during which he's also produced three multi-hit efforts and a refreshingly modest 19.2 percent strikeout rate.

Pederson is hitting .161 with a .333 OBP and one extra-base hit (a triple) over his last 10 games.

He remains a staple in the top four spots of the lineup against right-handed pitching while sitting against all southpaws. Pederson is hitting .245/.373/.447 with eight home runs in 51 games this season. His 22.8 percent strikeout rate is his lowest mark since 2019, while his 15 percent walk rate is the best mark he has posted since 2015.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's win over the Guardians.

The veteran slugger drove a first-pitch fastball from Gavin Williams over the right-center field wall in the fourth inning. The solo shot extended Ozuna's hitting streak to 13 games, a stretch in which he's slashing .288/.351/.558 with four homers and 10 RBI. After stumbling out of the gate with a .397 OPS in April and looking like his roster spot could be in jeopardy, Ozuna has completely turned things around and delivered a .966 OPS since the beginning of May.

Pederson is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against Seattle, freelance writer Henry Schulman reports.

Pederson will get another day off with the Giants set to face off against southpaw Bryan Woo. Michael Conforto will fill the designated hitter slot with Pederson sitting.

McCutchen is not in the starting lineup Monday against the Dodgers.

McCutchen will take a seat after he went 3-for-13 with a homer, a double, three RBI and three strikeouts over the three-game series with Milwaukee. Bryan Reynolds will slot in at designated hitter while Josh Palacios enters the lineup in left field and bats leadoff versus Los Angeles.

The Cardinals recalled Baker from Triple-A Memphis on Monday. He'll serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 6 batter in Monday's series opener in Miami.

Baker was up with the Cardinals for a couple weeks last month but played sparingly, with most of his limited opportunities coming against left-handed pitching. St. Louis is slated to face a few southpaws this week, so he could see a handful of starts before the All-Star break.

Winker is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cubs.

The Brewers are facing a southpaw starter (Drew Smyly) for the third time in four games, and Winker has now sat out each of those contests. William Contreras will handle designated-hitter duties in place of Winker, who is still being viewed as a strict strong-side platoon player.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that Brantley's (shoulder) progress has "plateaued somewhat," Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brantley had been ramping up his activities as he works his way back from a setback with his surgically repaired right shoulder, but he's now encountered another bump in the road. Baker didn't go into specifics regarding how significant Brantley's setback might be, but the 36-year-old at least no longer looks like he'll be an option to return from the 60-day injured list coming out of the All-Star break.

Canha went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Giants.

Getting the start at first base while Pete Alonso got a partial breather as the DH, Canha came through with a fourth-inning solo shot off Alex Wood before swiping third base on the front end of a surprising double steal with Brett Baty in the seventh. The homer was Canha's first since June 1, and he hit just .224 (11-for-49) through 20 games in between the long balls. On the season, the veteran outfielder is slashing .245/.337/.394 with six homers, six steals, 25 RBI and 27 runs, and it might take a Tommy Pham trade for Canha to get another chance to hold down a regular spot in the starting nine.