MLB Player News

Manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday that Brantley (knee) could be activated from the 10-day injured list in the next two or three days, but he is unsure if Brantley will be able to play the field when he first returns, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

While Baker did not sound overly optimistic about Brantley's recovery from knee soreness, his update suggests that Houston has a good chance of getting the 34-year-old's bat back in the lineup for the postseason. Whether Brantley is able to play left field if and when he returns is another question, as the knee soreness appears to be of most concern when considering his defensive mobility. If Brantley is indeed unable to contribute defensively once activated, he figures to assume the bulk of the starts at designated hitter, which would push Yordan Alvarez to left field on a regular basis.

Torrens went 2-for-5 with two RBI in Monday's 13-4 win over the Athletics.

After driving in only two runs over a 19-game stretch between Aug. 29 and Sept. 20, Torrens has turned into a run-producing machine over the past week. He's accumulated six RBI during that time, allowing him to strengthen his hold on the Mariners' primary designated-hitter role.

Brantley (knee) took batting practice Sunday.

Brantley's progression from a knee injury took an unexpected turn last week, and an estimated return date is unclear.

Jimenez went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, two runs and a walk in Monday's win over the Tigers.

The left fielder launched a homer off of reliever Ian Krol in the seventh inning, driving in Yasmani Grandal in the process. It was his 10th long ball of the season, but only his second of the month. Jimenez has secured at least one hit in 14 out of 17 games since Sept. 5, but has only driven in seven runs while batting .232 in those contests.

Belt was diagnosed Monday with a fractured left thumb, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt had to leave Sunday's matchup against the Rockies after being drilled by a fastball on the hand, and X-rays failed to bring good news. The timing on Belt's injury couldn't be worse for San Francisco with the postseason right around the corner. He'll meet with team doctors over the next few days to determine the next steps in his recovery and a timetable for a return, per Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. According to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, Belt is expected to be moved to the 10-day injured list for the remainder of the regular season, though a return during the playoffs has not yet been ruled out.

Pederson went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run Sunday in Atlanta's 4-3 win over San Diego.

Thanks to his nice day at the dish, Pederson was instrumental in allowing Atlanta to open its division lead over Philadelphia to two and a half games. He put Atlanta in the board with two outs in the second inning, when he sent a Joe Musgrove offering deep to right field for his 17th long ball of the season. Pederson still looks poised to finish the season as a fourth outfielder, as Eddie Rosario has seemingly usurped him for an everyday role. His start Sunday was his first since Sept. 19 and his second since Sept. 12.

Stanton went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Sunday in the Yankees' 6-3 win over the Red Sox.

Stanton has lived up to his billing as one of the game's premier power hitters over the past two weeks, slugging eight home runs and driving in 14 over a 14-game stretch. He left the yard in each game of the Yankees' weekend sweep at Fenway Park, with his 448-foot blast in the eighth inning Sunday clearing the Green Monster and providing some needed insurance runs.

Blackmon will start in right field and bat third Monday against the Nationals.

Blackmon will head into the final week of the regular season with an eight-game hitting streak on the line. Though he's delivered a .400 average over that stretch, his production has mostly been devoid of counting stats (zero home runs, zero stolen bases, four runs and three RBI). Barring a massive surge over Colorado's final six games, Blackmon will finish 2021 with his lowest home run total (he's currently at 13) in a 162-game season since 2013 and his lowest batting average (currently .273) since his 27-game rookie campaign in 2011.

Canha went 2-for-5 with two RBI in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Astros.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and runners at the corners, Canha legged out an infield single to score the tying run. In his next at-bat with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Canha came through with another clutch hit to help Oakland keep its faint playoff hopes alive. After a prolonged slump for much of the past two weeks, Canha appears to be coming out of his funk with five hits and a pair of walks over his last five games.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.

Ramirez will take a seat after he went 3-for-10 with a solo home run while starting each of Cleveland's last three contests. Oscar Mercado will spell Ramirez in left field on Monday.