MLB Player News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Ohtani (knee/biceps) is scheduled to play catch Monday for the second time in three days, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. Ohtani served as the Dodgers' designated hitter in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Before playing catch out to 90 feet Saturday, Ohtani had been shut down from throwing for approximately two weeks due to lingering soreness and inflammation in his left knee as well as a right biceps issue, which cropped up during his last bullpen session July 22. The two-way superstar reported no issues coming out of Saturday's catch session and is set to repeat the activity Monday, but Roberts wouldn't provide a timeline for when Ohtani might get back on a mound, terming it as a "day-by-day" decision. The Dodgers are planning on Ohtani being part of their rotation in the postseason, and while he's still expected to resume pitching in games before the end of the regular season, he may not be ready to handle a traditional starting role and could instead be deployed as more of an opener while he gradually builds up his pitch count.

Schwarber went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, four total RBI and three walks in Sunday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the Blue Jays.

Schwarber opened the scoring in the third inning with a three-run, opposite-field blast off Shane Bieber before extending the lead to 4-2 with a 448-foot solo shot in the fifth. The two-homer game snapped an extended power drought for Schwarber, who had gone 17 games without a long ball -- he went just 10-for-57 (.175) with three RBI in that span. Schwarber is now slashing .247/.369/.535 through 503 plate appearances this season with 68 RBI, 68 runs scored and 35 home runs, tied with Yordan Alvarez for the most in the majors.

Nootbaar is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

The veteran outfielder started all five games since being acquired from the Cardinals on Monday, but he'll hit the bench Sunday with lefty Justin Wrobleski taking the mound for Los Angeles. Nootbaar has opened his time with the Diamondbacks by going 3-for-17 with four walks, a double, one RBI and one run scored. He's unlikely to see significant action against left-handed pitching over the rest of the season.

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

Yelich started the previous six games but will hit the bench Sunday after going 4-for-23 with eight strikeouts during that span. William Contreras is resting his legs as the designated hitter, which allows Gary Sanchez to pick up a start behind the plate.

Polanco is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Polanco served as the designated hitter for the first two games of the series, but he'll cede those duties to Brett Baty in the finale. Since being activated from the 60-day injured list July 7, Polanco has yet to start more than two consecutive games and has put together a wretched .097/.138/.177 slash line with one home run, three RBI and four runs.

Suarez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run during the Reds' 8-2 loss to the Nationals on Saturday.

The Reds were kept off the board through five innings, but Suarez ended the shutout in the sixth with a two-run long ball off Max Kranick. Suarez has homered in back-to-back games and is up to 16 long balls on the year, which puts him on pace to crack the 20-homer mark for a sixth consecutive regular season. He has a .688 OPS with 43 RBI and 29 extra-base hits over 339 plate appearances this season.

The Padres announced Friday that Andujar no longer requires a splint for his fractured right wrist and has been cleared for light activity, MLB.com reports.

Andujar hasn't yet been cleared to take full swings, however, and that will be a major checkpoint in the recovery process that he'll need to hit before his return from the 10-day injured list can be viewed as imminent. The 31-year-old hit .259 with five home runs, two steals, 22 RBI and 24 runs in 74 games with the Padres before landing on the shelf July 20.

Herrera went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a run scored, and two strikeouts in Friday's 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Herrera extended the Cardinals' lead to two with a solo shot in the bottom of the third. The 26-year-old clubbed his first home run since July 26, ending his 10-game drought. On the season, Herrera has slashed .240/.354/.379 with 13 home runs and 48 RBI in 511 plate appearances.

Nootbaar started in left field and went 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored as the leadoff batter in Wednesday's 10-4 win over the Padres.

Nootbaar was moved to left field in his second game in a Diamondbacks uniform after serving as the designated hitter Tuesday. He also took over the leadoff spot for a resting Ketel Marte. Nootbaar has extensive experience atop the order, having been deployed there 185 times in his career with the Cardinals. Marte and Corbin Carroll are the primary leadoff hitters for Arizona, but Nootbaar carries the traits a team seeks in the role -- he's below league average in chase rate while consistently above average in his walk rate.

Polanco went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Guardians.

Polanco had been ice cold coming into Wednesday's contest, going 0-for-26 in his previous eight games. However, he extended the Mets' lead to 2-0 with a solo home run off Tanner Bibee in the third inning -- for his second long ball this season and first since April 11 -- before adding a two-out double in the ninth. Polanco is now slashing .144/.202/.243 with five RBI and seven runs scored through 120 plate appearances.