MLB Player News

Brantley is not in Sunday's lineup against the Angels.

Manager Dusty Baker noted that he plans to give his veterans regular days off early in the season, and Brantley's absence from the lineup falls in line with that plan. Jose Siri will start in Brantley's absence while playing in center field and hitting first.

Miller is not in the lineup Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Miller started in left field the first two games of the campaign and went 2-for-8 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored, but he'll head to the bench Sunday with Toronto sending out lefty Hyun Jin Ryu. Nick Solak will start in left for the Rangers as the short side of the platoon.

Jimenez went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Tigers.

Jimenez put the White Sox on the board in the top of the first inning, singling to shallow center field with two outs to score Luis Robert and Jose Abreu. The slugger is still looking for his first extra-base hit of the season, but he's made both of his base knocks count by driving in three runs through two games. He'll be back in the lineup for Sunday's series finale, playing left field and batting cleanup, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in the Yankees' 4-2 win over the Red Sox on Saturday.

After going deep on Opening Day, Stanton smashed the ball over the fence again Saturday, providing the decisive runs with a 437-foot two-run shot off Nick Pivetta in the sixth inning. Notably, the slugger started in right field while Josh Donaldson took over as the team's designated hitter, which correlates with Stanton's statement Thursday that he will play the outfield "a few times a week," per Marly Rivera of ESPN.com. Both of Stanton's hits this season have left the yard.

Buxton went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and was hit by a pitch in Saturday's 4-3 loss against Seattle.

Buxton gave the Twins the lead with his eighth-inning blast off Andres Munoz. After signing a seven-year, $100 million extension in the offseason, Buxton tore up Grapefruit League pitching with a remarkable .469/.514/1.094 batting line. The 28-year-old had a career-high 19 home runs in only 61 games in 2021 and, if healthy, should continue to provide significant power at the top of the Minnesota lineup.

Winker went 2-for-4 with a walk in a win over the Twins on Friday.

Winker had a noteworthy regular-season Mariners debut, as not only did he produce the only multi-hit effort of the day for Seattle, but he also made a game-ending catch at the left-field wall on a Gary Sanchez drive that initially looked like it had a chance to leave the yard. Winker operated out of the No. 3 spot in the order Friday and is slotted there again Saturday while starting at designated hitter.

Miller went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 10-8 loss to the Blue Jays.

The veteran utility player got the start in left field and hit leadoff against right-hander Jose Berrios, and he got Texas off to a flying start by ripping the fourth pitch of the game over the fence in left-center field. Miller figures to see the strong side of a platoon role after posting an OPS north of .800 against RHP each of the last two seasons, and if he also continues to hit leadoff in those games, his fantasy value would get a further bump.

Stanton went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and four strikeouts in Friday's 6-5 win over the Red Sox.

Although Stanton's four strikeouts were cause for some concern, he helped salvage his performance with a game-tying homer in the bottom of the fourth inning. The 32-year-old stayed relatively healthy last year and hit 35 home runs in 139 games, but he had a 27.1 percent strikeout rate that he'll attempt to improve in 2022.

Encarnacion-Strand went 4-for-5 with two home runs and nine RBI for High-A Cedar Rapids in Friday's win.

Encarnacion-Strand, the 128th overall pick in the 2021 first-year player draft, hit .379 with a .999 OPS last season for Low-A Fort Myers. He'll need to show a better eye at the plate as he had a 28.3 percent strikeout rate and 5.4 percent walk rate last year, but he's off to a good start at High-A.

Lewis (knee) was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Lewis is still working his way back from surgery to repair a torn meniscus, a procedure he underwent last May. The Mariners had said early in camp that he wasn't expected to be ready for Opening Day, and that's in fact what ended up happening. He's been taking steps in the right direction however, so his absence may not be a long one. He'll return to a very crowded outfield, as the Mariners acquired Jesse Winker from the Reds in March and promoted 21-year-old phenom Julio Rodriguez to the Opening Day roster, but Lewis has a strong enough bat to carve out a role once he proves he's healthy.