MLB Player News

Mercedes will be on the bench for Friday's game against Houston.

Mercedes sits for the second time in three games and the third time in the last six contests. It's not hard to see why he's losing playing time, as he's hit a miserable .122/.189/.171 over his last 23 games after hitting .364/.414/.557 through his first 40. Yasmani Grandal will be the designated hitter Friday, with Zack Collins starting behind the plate.

Ramirez will sit Friday against the Pirates, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Ramirez had seemingly been moving into a near-everyday role, but he's now been on the bench for three of Cleveland's last four games. Josh Naylor starts in right field again in his absence.

Ohtani (3-1) earned the win Thursday against the Tigers after tossing six innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk while fanning five.

This was Ohtani's fourth quality start of the season and all four have come over his last six outings -- plus, he's now allowed two or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts. The right-hander owns an excellent 2.70 ERA in addition to his dynamic offensive contributions and is scheduled to make his next start against the Rays on the road next week.

Brantley went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Thursday's 10-2 win over the White Sox.

All of Brantley's offense came in the first inning to get the Astros up 3-0 on his three-run home run off Dylan Cease. He extended his current streak of reaching base safely to 15 games. The 34-year-old is slashing .342/.386/.548 with four home runs, 24 RBI and 31 runs in 215 plate appearances. His batting average trails only Nick Castellanos (.348) for the best amongst qualifiers in all of baseball.

Stanton went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and another run scored during Thursday's win over the Blue Jays.

Stanton regained the lead for the Yankees by taking Anthony Castro deep in the seventh inning. The long ball, which carried an exit velocity of 104 mph, was Stanton's 13th homer of the season and the 325th of his career. Overall this year, the 31-year-old is slugging .265/.337/.519 as he works to gain a role in the outfield.

Ohtani will bat second and serve as the designated hitter Thursday against the Tigers, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani will take the mound as the starting pitcher in the game, but he will also hit for the Angels. This is the seventh time this season that he will start a game as a two-way player. Ohtani has maintained an outstanding .271/.350/.618 line across 254 plate plate appearances while also logging a 2.85 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 47.1 frames.

Ford was traded from the Yankees to the Rays on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations and a player to be named later.

The Rays have a well-earned reputation for being smart in their acquisitions, so it's often wise to wonder if their interest in a player indicates there's something more than he's shown thus far. That said, there's a big gap between the .199/.301/.422 line Ford has produced in 319 career big-league plate appearances and what he'd need to play a meaningful role. He'll join Triple-A Durham for now, and the Rays have plenty of bats to fill the first base and designated hitter spots, so there doesn't appear to be a clear path to a fantasy-relevant role for the 28-year-old.

Reyes (oblique) could begin a rehab assignment as early as next week, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Reyes was expected to miss 5-to-7 weeks after he sustained a left internal oblique strain in late May, though he seems to be slightly ahead of schedule in his recovery. The 25-year-old could require a fairly lengthy rehab assignment given the severity of his injury, but he appears to be trending in the right direction.

Ramirez isn't starting Thursday's game against the Orioles.

Ramirez will take a seat for the second time in the last three games after he went 1-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI in Wednesday's contest. Josh Naylor will start in right field and bat seventh.

Belt went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a triple and a walk in Wednesday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Belt recorded his third straight multi-hit contest and it seems his 0-for-16 slump earlier this month is a thing of the past. The slugging first baseman also ended a streak of 16 straight games without a homer with his three-run shot off Ryan Buchter in the fifth inning. Belt is hitting .323 with a 1.093 OPS across nine games this month following a stint on the injured list.