MLB Player News

Brantley (shoulder) said Wednesday he hasn't swung a bat since landing on the 10-day injured list June 28 and is without a timeline to resume doing so, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "I don't want to put a timetable on [swinging a bat] because then I don't know if it's pushing too hard or not pushing hard enough. It's literally day by day," Brantley said.

Brantley's lack of meaningful progress in his recovery from the injury may have influenced the Astros' decision to acquire Trey Mancini from the Orioles prior to Tuesday's trade deadline. The fact that Brantley hasn't yet been moved to the 60-day injured list offers some hope that he'll be back in action by the second half of August, but a clearer target date for his return won't be established until he begins to ramp up his baseball activities.

Ohtani (forearm) went 3-for-5 with a pair of solo home runs in Thursday's 8-7 loss to the Athletics.

After exiting late in Wednesday's 3-1 loss with a forearm cramp, Ohtani showed enough improvement overnight to fill his usual spot in the lineup for Thursday's series finale as the Angels' designated hitter. The two-way standout was responsible for two of the Angels' seven solo long balls on the day, as Los Angeles became the sixth team in MLB history to hit that many home runs and still lose. Ohtani, who is now up to 24 home runs on the season, looks like he'll be able to serve as the Angels' everyday designated hitter until his next turn on the mound comes up Tuesday in Oakland.

Vogelbach went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-4 win over Atlanta.

Vogelbach went back-to-back with Pete Alonso in the third inning. With a homer in each of the last two games, Vogelbach is starting to flex his power for the Mets. He's gone 10-for-30 (.333) in 10 contests since he was traded from the Pirates. For the season, the 29-year-old slugger is slashing .240/.354/.449 with 14 homers, 39 RBI, 33 runs scored and 12 doubles in 85 games between the two teams.

Harper (thumb) said Thursday he hopes to return from the injured list sometime in September, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Harper has been sidelined since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left thumb in late June, and he's been hesitant to put a timeline on his return from the 10-day IL other than suggesting that he intends to play again in 2022. As Lauber notes, Harper had the pins removed from his left thumb Monday, and he was able to begin a throwing program Wednesday after the time on the shelf had allowed him to heal up from the torn ligament in his right elbow that had limited him to designated-hitter duties since mid-April. Harper looks like he'll have a chance to complete his throwing program and resume an everyday role in right field once he's activated, but he'll still likely require a few weeks to ramp back up from both the elbow injury and thumb surgery.

Cabrera will serve as the Tigers' designated hitter and No. 3 batter in Thursday's game against the Rays, but manager A.J. Hinch said the 39-year-old will start in every other game through the duration of the homestand while he manages lingering right knee pain, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Once the homestand concludes Aug. 11, Hinch said the Tigers' training and coaching staffs will meet with Cabrera to decide if he's ready to step back into an everyday role, or if he'll continue to require more frequent rest. Though Cabrera doesn't seem to be dealing with a major injury, it's clear the rigors of the long season is taking a toll on the future Hall of Famer, who is sitting on a career-worst .657 OPS for the campaign. To that end, Woodbery noted that Cabrera alluded to the possibility of retirement Thursday when he spoke to the media. Given that Cabrera is due $32 million in 2023 in the final season of his eight-year contract extension, the most likely outcome remains that he'll hold off on retiring for one more year.

Collins was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

Collins spent over a month on the major-league roster but appeared in just four games and went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts. He'll head back to the minors with the Blue Jays activating their recent trade acquisitions.

Meneses is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Phillies.

Meneses started at first base in the final two games of the Nationals' series with the Mets and went 1-for-8 with a solo home run, but he was merely keeping a seat warm in the lineup for Luke Voit, who was acquired in Tuesday's blockbuster deal that saw Juan Soto and Josh Bell go to San Diego. Voit has joined the Nationals in Philadelphia and will make his team debut Thursday at first base, taking over the everyday role that briefly belonged to Meneses. Unless Nelson Cruz's neck issue forces him to the injured list and the Nationals are in need of a new designated hitter, Meneses doesn't look like he'll have a path to playing regularly in Washington.

Canha isn't starting Thursday against Atlanta.

Canha is out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Wednesday. Tyler Naquin will take his place in left field and bat seventh.

Pederson (concussion) is expected to be activated from the 7-day injured list Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Pederson landed on the concussion IL on July 29, and he'll rejoin the active roster Saturday after being sidelined for the 7-day minimum. The 30-year-old struggled in his first eight appearances out of the All-Star break, going 2-for-18 with a double, a walk and six strikeouts.

Ohtani (forearm) will serve as the Angels' designated hitter and No. 2 batter in Thursday's game against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The Angels are facing a quick turnaround from Wednesday's 3-1 loss with Thursday's contest beginning at 4:07 p.m. ET, but Ohtani's inclusion in the lineup for the series finale implies that the forearm cramping he experiencing a night ago isn't a concern. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Wednesday's contest, but the move looks to have been mostly out of an abundance of caution. Ohtani will take a .253/.349/.491 slash line to go with 22 home runs and 11 stolen bases into Thursday's contest.