MLB Player News

After starting six games in a row, Athletics outfielder Mark Canha was absent from the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Twins. While his .235 batting average over his last 10 games is rather pedestrian, he has hit three home runs and has seven RBI in that span. 

Coco Crisp, who was activated from the disabled list on Wednesday, took over in left field for manager Bob Melvin.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley homered and extended his modest hitting streak to five games during Tuesday's 5-3 defeat to Kansas City.

Brantley took Kansas City starter Jason Vargas deep for a two-run home run in the opening frame. He reached base twice and finished 1 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and two RBI. Over his last 11 games, Brantley is hitting .441 (19 for 43) with eight extra base hits, 10 RBI and six walks.

Mariners infielder Brad Miller won't be starting at shortstop every day, but he'll still be in the lineup. Manager Lloyd McClendon said he plans to use Miller at a variety of spots to rest regular starters. 

"My vision is to see him as a Ben Zobrist-type of player," he said, per the News Tribune. "We’ll see. This is not etched in stone. This is something we’re trying, and we’ll see how it goes."

Miller, for one, isn't happy about the experiment. 

"He’s a great player," Miller said of Zobrist, "and he’s invaluable, but I wouldn’t want to pigeonhole myself to anything. I’m 25 years old. I’m still young in my career. Yes, a player who can play a lot of positions is very valuable. But also, a player who is an All-Star shortstop is very valuable. That’s kind of how I look at it. I don’t think you can compare yourself to anybody."

Indians center fielder Michael Bourn is out of the starting lineup on Tuesday, with Michael Brantley shifting to center and Ryan Raburn moving taking over in left field, according to MLB.com. Manager Terry Francona indicated Bourn will be held out of the lineup for the forseeable future against left-handed pitchers.

"I talked to Bourny today a little bit about it," Francona said prior to Tuesday's game, per MLB.com. "And this is just in the near future, because we really want Bourny to be our center fielder, but it's been a struggle for him against lefties."

It will be Brantley's first start in center field this season after drawing 44 starts there in 2014. The Indians are currently the underdogs (+110) against Kansas City.

Athletics left fielder Mark Canha went 1 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in his team's 8-7 loss to the Twins Monday.

Canha gave his team a brief lead with a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but the Twins were able to score four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the advantage. Canha then added a second RBI on an eighth-inning groundout. He's hit .284/.348/.469 with four home runs, 14 RBI and two stolen bases in 81 at-bats.

Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said that shortstop Brad Miller may move around in the defense and that he is "Not the forgotten man. He's certainly not the culprit in all of this," according to the Seattle Times.

Miller has started 23 of the Mariners' 25 games this year at shortstop but, with the call up of Chris Taylor, he's not in Monday's starting lineup.

Miller is hitting .250 this season with a .301 on-base percentage for the 10-15 Mariners.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley had a two-RBI single and double during a 10-7 win Sunday vs. Toronto. He also had two runs and two walks.

Brantley has hit safely in four straight games and has at least one RBI in four straight games as well.

Since returning from a back injury April 17 -- which kept him out six of seven games from April 8-15 -- Brantley is batting .381 (24 for 63) with one home run, seven doubles, nine runs, 11 RBI, seven walks and three stolen bases in 16 games.

Twins first baseman Kennys Vargas went 2 for 5 at the plate in Minnesota's 13-3 win over the White Sox on Sunday.

Vargas did his damage in the sixth inning when he hit a lead off home run over the center field wall off of Zach Putnam, his second of the year. Vargas boosted his average to .208 with five RBI in 72 at-bats this season.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera went 3 for 4 with a two-run home run in his team's 6-4 win over the Royals Sunday.

Cabrera extended his team's lead to 6-0 with his fifth-inning home run, and it provided to be the decisive hit of the game after the Royals were able to rally for four runs in the seventh and eighth innings. He was just 1 for 8 in the previous three games of the series but had drawn four walks to provide a constant presence on base.

Cabrera has hit .366/.459/.624 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 93 at-bats.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said that he plans to find days off for some of his regulars who haven't missed a game yet this year. 

Miguel Cabrera has started every game at first base. Ian Kinsler has been a fixture at second, and one day at DH is the only thing that kept Yoenis Cespedes out of left field this season. 

"Absolutely (a day off) can help," Ausmus said, per the Detroit Free Press. "Even if you're not struggling, just to not have to think about every pitch every at-bat, you just kind of sit back for a day and watch the game until you're called upon to go into it. It's almost like going to a spa for the day. It's mentally relaxing."