MLB Player News

Buxton (knee) is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians.

Nick Gordon will pick up a second straight start in center field while Buxton remains bothered by a sore right knee, which flared up following Tuesday's 6-5 loss. Per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com, manager Rocco Baldelli said after Wednesday's 11-10 loss that Buxton wasn't moving around very well, but the skipper didn't suggest that the 28-year-old was a candidate for the 10-day injured list. Even so, fantasy managers will want to keep close tabs on Buxton's status heading into the weekend, given his injury history.

Miller started at designated hitter and went 1-for-3 with two RBI in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Philadelphia.

Miller filled in for Mitch Garver, who was given a rest day after coming off the injured list Tuesday. Josh H. Smith started in left field while Ezequiel Duran worked at third base, the two positions at which Miller has played the most in 2022. With the Rangers signaling a youth movement, Miller's opportunities may dwindle going forward. The one thing in his favor is clutch hitting. The veteran ranks fifth on the team with 27 RBI, and he has a .931 OPS with runners in scoring position.

Choi went 2-for-3 with a walk Wednesday against the Yankees.

Choi reached base multiple times for the fifth time in his last six games. He's walked six times in that span, increasing his on-base percentage to .389 on the season. That's helped him maintain a .873 OPS across 186 plate appearances -- which would be his highest mark as a Ray.

Jimenez (hamstring) went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

Jimenez started at designated hitter for the second consecutive game with Charlotte. He's gone 1-for-8 and has shown no sign of a setback. While the progress is encouraging, it may be a few days before Jimenez is activated if the White Sox want him to see some work in the outfield.

Brantley went 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Mets.

Brantley did all of his damage in the first inning as part of a four-run rally by the Astros. He has at least one hit in 15 of his 16 starts in June, also racking up 10 RBI and 11 runs scored while hitting .381. Brantley continues to be a steady producer, as he now has a very familiar .298/.378/.434 line across 260 plate appearances on the season.

Winker went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 9-0 win over the Athletics.

Winker contributed an RBI single in the third inning and a two-run blast in the fifth. He's homered in consecutive contests for the first time all year, and three of his last four hits have gone for extra bases. The outfielder is up to a .219/.337/.335 slash line, six long balls, 29 RBI and 22 runs scored through 68 contests. It's too soon to say he's shaking off his season-long power outage, but it's clear he's making some progress in that area, though that could also be a product of facing the Athletics' pitching.

Ohtani (6-4) dominated with eight scoreless innings to earn the win over the Royals on Wednesday. He struck out 13 while allowing just two hits and a walk.

Ohtani followed up a career-best performance at the plate Tuesday with one of his most dominant pitching outings. It's the first time he's gone eight scoreless innings, and the 13 strikeouts marked a career high for the two-way star. He now has a 2.90 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 90:16 K:BB through 68.1 innings overall. Ohtani also went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks at the plate Wednesday, lifting his season slash line to .260/.336/.487 in 298 plate appearances.

Buxton did not play in Wednesday's loss to Cleveland due to knee soreness, Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul reports.

Wolfson reports Buxton's knee flared up and has been an issue for a while. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game the center fielder wanted to play Wednesday but couldn't move around well enough to be available, according to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. It's not yet clear if Buxton will be able to take the field for Thursday's series finale against the Guardians.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs during Wednesday's 5-3 win against the Mets.

The 24-year-old went back-to-back with Alex Bregman during the opening frame, and Alvarez followed with another solo shot during the third inning. He leads all of baseball with a 1.064 OPS and now has 21 home runs and 51 RBI for the season. Alvarez has especially been flexing his power lately with four long balls in his past four games.

Buxton is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.

Buxton's absence comes as a surprise after he received a breather Saturday before starting in both of the Twins' next two games while benefiting from a team off day in between them. At this point, the Twins haven't indicated that Buxton is dealing with an injury, so the prevailing assumption is that he's getting another maintenance day. Nick Gordon replaces Buxton in center field Wednesday.