MLB Player News

Stanton has lost about 20 pounds since last season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Stanton's listed weight typically hovers around 245 pounds, so he remains an imposing figure despite the weight loss. The slugger indicated that the decision to become leaner was made in response to his struggle to stay healthy last season. "I had a lot of time to think over last year," Stanton said. "I just wanted to cover all my bases. I tried to figure out what was the best way for me to stay on the field. What's the best way to for me to progress? I thought I'd give this a try and be closer to the weight of my younger years." The drop hasn't affected Stanton from a power perspective -- he has already hit two home runs and two doubles in 25 at-bats after compiling three of each in 59 at-bats last season. Most importantly, Stanton has remained healthy in the early part of the campaign after playing in only 18 games in 2019.

The White Sox optioned Mercedes to their alternate training site Monday.

The White Sox already have three other healthy catchers on the 30-man active roster, so Mercedes was never destined to stick around long in Chicago after receiving a callup Saturday. The 27-year-old backstop is unlikely to see extensive action with the big club in 2020 unless both Yasmani Grandal and James McCann are simultaneously sidelined.

Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in a loss to the Athletics on Sunday.

Vogelbach's first-inning single plated Dylan Moore to break a scoreless tie and gave the slugger his first RBI of the season. The 27-year-old operated out of the cleanup spot Sunday for the first time in 2020, even as he continues to be in a significant slump. Vogelbach is slashing just .118/.211/.118 across his first 19 plate appearances, with a drop in hard-contact rate from last season's 38.3 percent to 30.8 percent likely having a role to play in his struggles.

Brantley went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Angels.

While many of the big-name Astros hitters have struggled out of the gate, Brantley is absolutely raking. Through nine games, the 33-year-old outfielder is slashing .438/.514/.656 with five extra-base hits and eight runs scored.

Ohtani experienced arm discomfort after Sunday's start and underwent an MRI, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani had another rough start Sunday against the Astros, allowing two runs on no hits and five walks while striking out three over 1.2 innings. He didn't factor into the decision in the team's loss in extra innings. The results of his MRI aren't yet known, and it's unclear whether he'll be forced to miss any time as a result.

Lewis went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Athletics.

Lewis went deep in the eighth inning off Athletics reliever Yusmeiro Petit, cutting the deficit to one run. The homer was Lewis' third of the year. The outfielder has hit safely in all 10 games so far, slashing .425/.477/.650 with nine RBI and seven runs scored. He's also struck out in 17 of his 40 at-bat. Lewis can be boom-or-bust, but he's been mostly boom so far.

Canha went 1-for-2 with a stolen base, a double, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Mariners.

Canha's steal came in the sixth inning after he was plunked by Mariners reliever Anthony Misiewicz, but he got greedy and was thrown out at third. Canha's not known for his speed -- he has just 14 stolen bases in his career after Sunday's performance. The 31-year-old is batting .292 with a homer, five RBI and three runs scored through eight games.

Choi is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Though Choi is attempting switch hitting this season after batting exclusively from the left side over his first four years in the majors, Rays manager Kevin Cash is still expected to withhold the 29-year-old from the lineup versus most southpaws. With lefty Tommy Milone twirling for Baltimore in the series finale, Yandy Diaz will man first base in place of Choi.

Reyes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.

Bradley Zimmer will enter the lineup in place of Reyes, who appears to be getting a routine breather in the series finale. Reyes has done a decent job of keeping his strikeouts in check through Cleveland's first nine games, but with only one extra-base hit (a double) through 31 plate appearances, he hasn't quite provided the power production fantasy managers anticipated.

Jimenez went 4-for-6 with a home run, a double and four RBI in Saturday's 11-5 win at Kansas City.

The 23-year-old was 0-for-7 since returning from a two-game absence due to lightheadedness, but he broke out in a big way Saturday. Jimenez is 8-for-21 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBI through six games this season.