MLB Player News

Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, a double and a walk in Monday's 4-3 win over Cleveland.

Alvarez entered Monday's game in an ugly 2-for-30 slump over his previous eight games but broke out in a big way. His 17th homer of the season was a two-run blast in the fifth inning to give Houston a 4-1 lead. The 6-foot-5 slugger is now slashing an impressive .287/.355/.524 with 35 extra-base hits and 58 RBI through 330 plate appearances.

Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and five RBI in Monday's win over the Rangers.

Cabrera delivered a vintage performance, with a bases-clearing double in the third inning putting the Tigers up 6-0 in a game they'd win 14-0. The veteran is still far from the dominant slugger he once was, but he's at least riding a modest three-game hitting streak and is capable of putting together nice box scores from time to time, though fantasy managers should keep their expectations tempered the rest of the season.

Solak isn't starting Monday's game against the Tigers.

Solak drew starts in each of the three games following the All-Star break and went 2-for-8 with a double and two strikeouts. Eli White will shift to second base while Jason Martin enters the lineup in left field.

Stanton is slated to play the outfield as soon as next weekend, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Stanton has played exclusively as designated hitter this season, slashing .263/.356/.471 with 15 home runs and 42 RBI through 298 plate appearances. However, he has plenty of experience in the outfield, having played right field -- and, to a lesser extent, left field -- during the first 10 seasons of his career. It's not yet clear how frequently Stanton will play the field, and much could depend on how soon the bevy of injured Yankees outfielders -- including Aaron Judge (COVID-19), Clint Frazier (illness), Miguel Andujar (wrist) and Trey Amburgey (hamstring) -- are able to return.

Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a pair of walks Sunday against Seattle.

Ohtani crushed a Paul Sewald offering to right-center in the ninth inning for his major-league leading 34th home run of the year, and his ninth in the last 15 games. He's now slashing .277/.363/.688 in 358 plate appearances this season, adding 74 RBI and 12 stolen bases (16 attempts). Ohtani is tentatively slated to make a pair of road starts on mound next week, facing Oakland on Monday and Minnesota on Sunday.

Alvarez batted second in the order and went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 4-0 loss to the White Sox.

Houston manager Dusty Baker shook up the lineup, as his team mustered just one run and four hits over 18 weekend innings. Alvarez is Exhibit 1 for the slumping lineup. He's hitless with 12 strikeouts over the last 21 at-bats.

Torrens went 1-for-3 with his 10th home run of the season and a walk Sunday against the Angels.

Torrens got his fourth straight start as the designated hitter and took Patrick Sandoval deep to center field in the fourth inning, giving the Mariners a 3-0 cushion. The 25-year-old Torrens has carved out consistent playing time in recent weeks and is hitting .277 with three round trippers in 11 games since the start of July.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

After going 2-for-7 while starting the first two games of the second half, Ramirez will cede right-field duties to Daniel Johnson in the series finale. Ramirez still appears fairly secure as Cleveland's top option at the position.

Torrens will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter and will bat fifth Sunday against the Angels.

Torrens has lost work behind the plate of late to rookie Cal Raleigh, but the former still appears to be locked into solid playing time as the Mariners' primary option at DH. He'll pick up a seventh straight start Sunday, with six of those assignments coming as a DH. With a .915 OPS through 10 games in July, Torrens should stick in the lineup until his bat cools down.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Sunday that Buxton has been taking part in lower-body activity and conditioning work, but the outfielder isn't yet performing drills with his fractured left hand, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. "The gripping and the starting to do things baseball activity-wise with his hand has not really taken off yet, but we weren't expecting it to," Baldelli said of Buxton. "It's still a little ways away."

Baldelli's comments don't offer much optimism that Buxton will be back before the end of the month, but the 27-year-old at least appears set to avoid surgery on the injured hand. Buxton will likely need to receive the green light from a doctor before he takes part in defensive drills and batting practice.