MLB Player News

Martinez (back) will slot in as the designated hitter and bat third Tuesday against Kansas City, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Martinez was scratched from Monday's lineup due to a back issue, but he's been cleared to return Tuesday, indicating that the issue wasn't particularly severe. The slugger is hitting .343 with four homers and 10 RBI over his last 10 contests, so the Red Sox will be more than happy to get Martinez back in the fold.

Ohtani remains on the bench Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Ohtani can't play the field this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. With no designated hitter available under National League rules, he'll be limited to pinch-hit duty Tuesday. Expect him back in the lineup Thursday in Boston.

Cabrera is out of the lineup for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the White Sox.

After going 1-for-5 in Monday night's 7-4 loss in the series opener, Cabrera will unsurprisingly rest with the Tigers and White Sox facing a quick turnaround for the first game of the twin bill. Brandon Dixon will handle designated-hitter duties for the afternoon contest, but expect Cabrera to check back into the lineup for the nightcap.

Martinez was scratched from the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals due to a back issue, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Martinez has battled back issues sporadically throughout the season, potentially contributing his in drop in production to a good but not quite elite .299/.376/.539 season slash line. The severity of this particular issue is not yet clear. Christian Vazquez will move to the designated hitter spot in his absence, with Sandy Leon entering the lineup behind the plate.

Ohtani is not in the lineup for Monday's game in Cincinnati, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani can't take the field as he's still recovery from Tommy John surgery, and he can't serve as the designated hitter with the series being playing in a National League park. He'll sit Tuesday as well but should be back in the lineup Thursday in Boston.

Jimenez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's win over the Phillies.

Jimenez tacked on some insurance in the eighth inning with a three-run home run to right field. He went 0-for-12 in his first three games back from the injured list (July 28 to July 31), but since then, he's 5-for-18 with two extra-base hits, so it appears he's returning to form.

Brantley is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brantley heads to the bench for just the second time since the All-Star break in what likely amounts to little more than a veteran maintenance day. The 32-year-old came up big in Saturday's 9-0 win, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI and two runs. Jake Marisnick will enter the Astros' outfield in Brantley's stead.

Soler went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run Saturday in the Royals' 11-3 loss to the Twins.

Soler has been the star of the Royals' series in Minnesota thus far, collecting five hits and scoring four times between the first two games of the series. He'll look to keep rolling the finale Sunday, when he'll bat cleanup while manning right field.

Choi is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

He'll cede first-base duties to platoon mate Jesus Aguilar with the Marlins bringing a lefty (Caleb Smith) to the hill for the series finale. Choi has taken over as the Rays' primary leadoff man against right-handed pitching over the past two weeks, producing an impressive .993 OPS in his seven starts out of that lineup spot.

Cabrera went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Rangers.

His first-inning blast off Adrian Sampson was Cabrera's second homer in his last four games, but only his seventh of the season. The future Hall of Famer is slashing .282/.340/.385 through 96 games, and he's now just 28 homers shy of 500 for his career (and 226 hits short of 3,000) -- milestones the 36-year-old might just be able to reach given that he still has at least four years and $124 million left on his contract.