MLB Player News

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.

Rooker entered Sunday's loss to the White Sox as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning and remained in the game in right field, going 1-for-2 with a two-run home run.

Named to his first All-Star Game earlier in the day, Rooker struck out looking during his official pinch-hit plate appearance before putting some much-needed good wood on the ball and sending a Bryan Shaw cutter 441 feet over the center field fence with Shea Langeliers aboard in the eighth. Rooker had been mired in a 3-for-34 slump over the prior 11 contests coming into the game, but he's now got a modest three-game hitting streak going that also includes his first career triple.

Belt went 2-for-4 with two solo homers in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Red Sox.

Belt took advantage of a less than 100 percent version of Garrett Whitlock, taking him yard in Whitlock's only inning of work. Belt found the grandstands once again in the sixth inning, this time launching a solo home run off Nick Pivetta. The multi-homer effort was his first of the campaign and boosted his season total to six long balls through 215 plate appearances. The lefty is slashing .267/.374/.473 against right-handed pitching and has hit all six of his homers off righties.

Morel went 3-for-5 with with a solo home run and three total RBI in Sunday's extra-inning loss to the Guardians.

Morel waited until the late innings to make his mark Sunday. His 15th home run of the season in the eighth inning got the Cubs within 6-2. He followed that up with a two-run single in the ninth as Chicago staged a rally that ultimately came up short. Morel has been a revelation with the 15 long balls in only 42 games. He hit 16 homers as a rookie last year and seems poised to fly past that figure soon.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

After clobbering 15 home runs over 27 games in June, Ohtani began July with an 0-for-4 effort. He was right back to his slugging ways in his second game of the month, tacking on an insurance run with his eighth-inning blast. He leads the majors with 31 long balls while maintaining a stellar .306/.390/.670 slash line with 68 RBI, 61 runs scored and 11 stolen bases through 84 contests. While he's dealt with a cracked fingernail over the last week, the two-way star is expected to take his next turn on the mound Tuesday versus the Padres.

Alvarez (oblique) took batting practice in the cage Sunday and swung at 60 percent intensity, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

It's the first time the 26-year-old has taken batting practice since he suffered the oblique strain June 8, but he still has significant work to do in his rehab program before returning from the injured list. Alvarez is without a clear timetable for his return, but an activation in mid-July seems feasible if he can avoid any setbacks.

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

Vogelbach is 2-for-23 over his past eight contests and will head to the bench Sunday despite the fact a righty (Ross Stripling) is pitching for San Francisco. Pete Alonso is resting his legs as the designated hitter while Mark Canha receives a start at first base.