MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Stanton (hamstring) would undergo an MRI on Monday in New York City, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Even though the Yankees haven't determined the full extent of the injury Stanton suffered in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader with the Rays, Boone acknowledged that the hamstring issue was significant enough to sideline the slugger for at least the next week, which explains the club's decision to move him to the injured list Sunday. The Yankees slotted Mike Ford in as the designated hitter for the series finale with the Rays, but expect a number of players to cycle in at that spot while Stanton is sidelined.

Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Alvarez (undisclosed) is "making progress," but the skipper was unwilling to put a timeline on the 23-year-old's return to the Astros, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "He hasn't been hitting that long. He hasn't been running that long," Baker said. "You don't want to do anything to hurt his legs, you don't want to do anything to hurt his obliques because you're not used to rotating. I really don't know how long it's going to be or how long it's going to take."

After missing all of summer camp for undisclosed reasons, Alvarez has been working out at the Astros' alternate training site in Corpus Christi for about two weeks as he looks to get reacclimated to baseball activities following a lengthy layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The slugger looked like his normal self during an intrasquad game Saturday, hitting a pair of doubles against minor-league pitcher Luis Garcia. Though Alvarez seems to be rounding into form, the Astros' slow approach to his ramp-up program makes it unlikely he'll be activated from the injured list ahead of Monday's series opener against the Giants. With no target date for Alvarez's 2020 debut, his fantasy managers will likely have to err on the side of caution and keep him on their bench for another week.

Choi is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Choi will get a break after starting each of the Rays' last three games, including both ends of Saturday's doubleheader, when he went 3-for-7 with two doubles, a walk and two runs. Mike Brosseau will cover first base in Choi's stead.

Ford will serve as the Yankees' designated hitter and will bat sixth Sunday against the Rays, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

The Yankees will give Ford the first chance to replace everyday DH Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday. While Ford should see his overall opportunities increase for the duration of Stanton's absence, the 28-year-old won't necessarily settle into a full-time role. Manager Aaron Boone could elect to use Aaron Judge at the DH spot more often, in which case Mike Tauchman would benefit from more playing time in the outfield.

Ford went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a victory over Tampa Bay in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader.

Ford got the start at first base in place of Luke Voit in the first game of the twinbill, and he capitalized on the opportunity with a 437-foot blast off Tyler Glasnow in the third inning. The homer was Ford's first of the campaign and only his third hit overall.

The Yankees placed Stanton on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left hamstring strain.

New York hasn't revealed the grade of the hamstring strain Stanton suffered in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Rays, but the slugging outfielder's history of being a slow healer makes it more likely than not that he'll be sidelined for longer than the minimum 10 days. The injury is yet another disappointing health-related setback for Stanton, who was off to a hot start to the abbreviated season with a 1.038 OPS through 53 plate appearances. Stanton's absence will likely allow Aaron Judge to see more regular starts at designated hitter while Mike Tauchman is expected to pick up more action in the outfield.

Soler went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in Saturday's 9-6 win over the Twins.

One of last year's breakout stars, Soler now has three homers in his last three games, bringing his total to five and his OPS to just under .900 for the season. Soler in anchored in the two hole for Kansas City and is seeing most of his time at DH, with only five starts in right field so far.

Cabrera went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs and three RBI in Saturday's 11-5 win over the Pirates.

The Tigers erupted for a five-run first inning and four-run sixth inning off Derek Holland, with Cabrera doing most of his damage in those two frames. The veteran slugger has a .209/.300/.512 slash line with four home runs, six runs and seven RBI through 12 games.

Stanton (hamstring) is expected to be placed on the injured list after exiting Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader in Tampa Bay, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Manager Aaron Boone said the veteran slugger will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but the initial diagnosis doesn't look promising for the immediate future. Stanton won't have an official timeline for his return until the MRI results are announced, but even if he avoids the IL, he's unlikely to be available for at least a few days.

Stanton was removed from Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rays with left hamstring tightness, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

The veteran slugger was lifted for a pinch hitter during the sixth inning of the nightcap, though it's unclear when the injury cropped up. Stanton went 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs and two walks before exiting with the injury. He should be considered day-to-day until the team provides an update.