MLB Player News

Choi is not in the lineup Friday against the Angels.

Choi hits the bench against lefty Andrew Heaney. Jesus Aguilar gets the nod at first base in his absence.

Brantley will not start Friday against the Royals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley owns a career-high .899 OPS and a career-best 21 homers. He'll get a rest Friday, with Kyle Tucker starting in left field.

Choi, who went 1-for-1 with four walks in a loss to the Rangers on Thursday, has now reached safely in 10 straight plate appearances, a new franchise record, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi's ninth-inning walk, his fourth free pass of the game, snapped a four-way tie he'd been in with B.J. Upton, Logan Forsythe and Tim Beckham for the record. Choi is actually scuffling at the plate overall in September in terms of hitting safely, as he's just 6-for-27 during the month. However, four of those six hits have gone for extra bases, with the 28-year-old posting a double, a triple and two home runs since the calendar flipped.

Solak went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Thursday's 6-4 win over Tampa Bay.

Solak, a member of the Rays' farm system before being traded to Texas in July, has given his new employers something to think about. During the three-game series, he's gone 6-for-11 with two home runs and four RBI. Since being promoted to the majors, Solak has reached base multiple times in 14 of the 22 games he's played. All that's left for the Rangers is to determine where he slots into the lineup every day in 2020.

Lewis went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and a double in a loss to the Reds on Thursday.

Another game, another homer for Lewis, who has now gone deep in the first three games of his big-league career, joining Trevor Story as the only players in MLB history to accomplish the feat. The 24-year-old left no doubt Thursday that his power is legit, crushing a solo shot that travelled 457 feet in the fifth inning. Lewis was Seattle's first-round draft pick in 2016 and posted decent but not spectacular home run totals in the minors, totaling 30 long balls in 287 career games. His power surge upon being called up to the majors should ensure Lewis a regular spot in right field for the remainder of this season and possibly beyond.

Soler went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored Thursday against the White Sox.

Soler took Lucas Giolito deep in the first inning to record his 44th home run of the season. Only Mike Trout and Pete Alonso have hit more long balls than him on the season, and he's shown no signs of slowing down by smacking six home runs in his last nine starts. Soler has maintained an impressive .257/.348/.557 line across 614 plate appearances.

Cabrera is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Cabrera will sit for the second half of Thursday's twin bill after 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in Game 1. Ronny Rodriguez is serving as the designated hitter in his stead.

Stanton (knee) will be the Yankees' regular left fielder when he returns to action next week, Randy Miller of NJ.com reports.

Stanton will play in the Florida Instructional League this weekend and is likely to be activated at the start of New York's next homestand as long as his knee holds up. He could be in the lineup as early as Tuesday and is expected to get regular playing time in left field for the remainder of the season. Stanton has played in only nine games for the Yankees this year, manning left field in five of those games while starting three times in right field and once in the designated hitter spot.

Ohtani will undergo season-ending surgery to address a bipartite patella in his left knee.

The procedure, which Ohtani will undergo Friday in Los Angeles, typically carries an 8-to-12-week recovery timeframe, so the two-way star should be fully healed by the time spring training rolls around. According to Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register, this won't affect Ohtani's recovery from Tommy John surgery; he's still expected to complete the throwing portion of his rehab in December. The 25-year-old appeared in 106 games as DH in his second year in the majors, finishing with a .286/.343/.505 slash line along with 18 home runs, 12 stolen bases and 62 RBI.

Lewis went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer in a win over the Reds on Wednesday.

Lewis' 383-foot shot with Austin Nola and Kyle Seager aboard not only erased a 2-0 deficit, it also broke up a Sonny Gray no-hit bid. The round tripper also made Lewis the 24th player in major-league history to hit a homer in both of his first two big-league games and the third player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. With Mitch Haniger (groin/back) almost assuredly remaining sidelined for the balance of the season at this point, Lewis should continue seeing a solid amount of playing time in right field.