MLB Player News

Rooker was scratched from the lineup Friday versus the Astros due to an illness, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Seth Brown is now playing right field and batting eighth for the Athletics. As long as it's not a serious ailment, Rooker should be available again sometime this weekend. He has a decent .783 OPS so far in July after slumping badly through much of June.

McCutchen is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Angels, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McCutchen will sit for a second straight game Friday after he went 2-for-8 with a double and a strikeout over the first two games of the team's series with Cleveland. Ji-Man Choi will take over at designated hitter and bat cleanup in the series opener with Los Angeles.

Harper is making his first professional start at first base Friday as the Phillies take on the Guardians, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Harper has been working out at first base for a while now and is finally ready to try his luck at the position in a game setting. If he proves capable of handling first base regularly, it opens up designated hitter for Kyle Schwarber and allows the Phillies to improve their defense in left field.

Vogelbach is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Vogelbach was not in the lineup originally submitted by the Mets but is part of the revised one. He will be at designated hitter and batting fifth against Kutter Crawford.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup again for Friday's tilt against the Red Sox, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Vogelbach has now been on the bench for three of the last four games even with the Mets facing righties in those contests. DJ Stewart will be in the designated hitter spot Friday.

Ford went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Twins.

Ford struck out in his first three at-bats Thursday before launching a two-run homer off Jorge Lopez in the eighth inning, extending Seattle's lead to 4-0. The game was emblematic of Ford's season thus far -- he's up to 10 home runs while slashing .260/.316/.596 despite a 32.5 percent K-rate through 114 plate appearances. While Ford's batting average isn't likely sustainable, he can be a legitimate source of power in fantasy leagues.

Alvarez (oblique) is expected to play Friday and Saturday with Triple-A Sugar Land before returning to the Astros on Monday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk in his rehab debut Wednesday at Sugar Land. He'll take the night off Thursday before logging several more tuneup at-bats over the weekend. Out since early June due to a right oblique strain, the 26-year-old slugger can provide a massive boost to the Astros as they attempt to chase down the first-place Rangers in the AL West standings.

The Mets recalled Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

With Starling Marte (head) headed for the injured list Thursday, Vientos will come up from Triple-A to fill Marte's roster spot. Vientos holds a 1.000 OPS in Syracuse but is slashing just .173/.244/.259 across 90 plate appearances in the majors throughout his career.

Ohtani is scheduled to make his next start as a pitcher Friday against the Pirates at Angel Stadium, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Ohtani developed a blister and a cracked nail during his most recent outing last Friday versus the Astros, but it hasn't prevented him from serving as the Angels' designated hitter in each of the subsequent five days while going 6-for-17 with three home runs and eight walks. The finger apparently hasn't bothered him during any throwing work he's been able to do over the last few days either, so he's not expected to face any restrictions as he toes the rubber Friday. The upcoming start could be Ohtani's last with the Angels if the team opts to trade the impending free agent ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup Thursday versus the White Sox.

Francisco Alvarez will take a turn as the Mets' designated hitter after Vogelbach went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk in that role Wednesday. The 30-year-old Vogelbach holds an underwhelming .682 OPS in 207 total plate appearances this season with New York.