MLB Player News

Ramirez will hit the bench for the first half of Saturday's doubleheader against the Red Sox, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Like many Rays, Ramirez plays frequently but not every day, as his trip to the bench here means he's started 40 of the team's first 59 games. That puts him on pace for 110 starts across a full season. Luke Raley will be the designated hitter in the afternoon contest, but there's a good chance Ramirez returns for the nightcap.

Ford, called up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day, went 1-for-3 in a loss to the Rangers on Friday.

The 30-year-old drew the start at designated hitter and was able to contribute a single in his first taste of big-league action this season. Ford generated a lackluster .206/.302/.313 slash line across 149 plate appearances with a whopping four major-league teams in 2022, and even with his success thus far this minor-league season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, it remains to be seen how much he can contribute outside of the occasional power numbers.

Ohtani (5-2) allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out six over six innings to take the loss Friday versus the Astros. He also went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts as a batter.

Ohtani couldn't get much going on either side of the ball Friday. On the bump, he's had continued troubles with the long ball -- this was the fourth time in his last seven starts that he's allowed multiple home runs. In those four starts, he's given up a combined 19 runs over 23 innings. Ohtani's now gone three outings without a win, and his ERA is up to 3.30 with a 1.01 WHIP and 96:29 K:BB through 71 innings over 12 starts. The two-way star is next scheduled to take the mound versus the Mariners next week.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-2 win over the Angels.

Alvarez had a rather quiet week going into Friday -- he was just 1-for-14 with two walks and five strikeouts over his previous four games -- but he made an early impact with a first-inning homer off Shohei Ohtani. Alvarez is the first player in the majors with 50 RBI this year, which is a benefit of being a productive hitter in the heart of a strong lineup. He's slashing .279/.391/.585 with 15 homers, 37 runs scored and 11 doubles through 51 contests, though he's faded a bit lately by hitting safely in just three of his last 10 games.

Buxton (ribs) will likely miss multiple games, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The good news is that Buxton's ribs aren't broken after he was hit by a pitch in Thursday's contest, but he is still in a lot of pain. Alex Kirilloff will serve as Minnesota's designated hitter Friday, moving Joey Gallo into left field and Donovan Solano in as the Twins' first baseman.

Ohtani is at DH and batting leadoff Friday in Houston.

Ohtani is also serving as the Angels' starting pitcher Friday night against the Astros. This will be the first look at leadoff in 2023 for the two-way sensation, who had exclusively hit third in his previous 56 games. He boasts an .872 OPS to go along with a 2.91 ERA.

Belt (illness) is back in the lineup Friday against the Mets.

Belt will fill the DH role for the Blue Jays and bat cleanup after missing a couple of games due to a stomach bug. He's shown a lot more life offensively over the last handful of weeks, slashing .333/.470/.470 in May after a brutal opening month.

Ramirez is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ramirez will take a seat after he went 1-for-7 with a strikeout while starting the last two games of a three-game series with the Cubs. Luke Raley will draw the start at designated hitter and bat seventh in the series opener with Boston.

Seattle selected Ford's contract from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

The 30-year-old joins the Mariners after slashing .302/.427/.605 with 13 home runs, 11 doubles and 56 RBI across 49 games (211 plate appearances) this season at the Triple-A level. Ford could get semi-regular looks at DH, though fantasy expectations should be tempered. He holds a career .201/.301/.387 slash line in the bigs.

Buxton was lifted from Thursday's game against Cleveland after getting hit in the ribs by a pitch, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Buxton had been playing at less than 100 percent due to lingering knee problems, and now Buxton could be facing another injury, this one to his ribs. The team will take a look at him and provide an update on how serious his injury is, but Buxton should be considered day-to-day for the time being.