MLB Player News

Vogelbach was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Vogelbach is slashing just .094/.250/.226 with two home runs through 18 games this season, prompting the Mariners to cast him off their 40-man roster. The 27-year-old slugger made his first All-Star game in 2019 while hitting .208/.341/.439 with 30 home runs in 144 games, so he could draw some interest on waivers. Sam Haggerty was added to Seattle's roster in a corresponding move.

Alvarez will have surgery to repair a partial tear of the patella tendon in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dusty Baker hinted earlier Wednesday that Alvarez could be out for the year, but he confirmed prior to Wednesday's game that he'd have surgery. It's unclear whether he'll be ready for spring training in 2021. Abraham Toro could see an uptick in playing time with Alvarez sidelined.

Brantley (quadriceps) traveled with the Astros on their road trip to face the Rockies and Padres, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Quadriceps soreness sent Brantley to the injured list over the weekend, though it sounds like he'll have a chance to make a minimum-length stay. He's eligible to return Saturday in San Diego.

Choi will return to being purely a left-handed hitter for the rest of this season, though he isn't giving up on switch-hitting down the line, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

While it was certainly an entertaining moment when Choi surprised the world by hitting right-handed in the third game of the season and crushed a homer over the center-field wall, it's difficult to say the experiment worked. His small-sample .773 OPS as a righty this season was quite decent, though he struck out in 63.6 percent of his right-handed plate appearances, so it's unlikely he would have been able to maintain that number. He believes that his right-handed work messed up his left-handed swing, which seems accurate as he's hit just .167/.270/.278 as a lefty against righties this season. Choi had only started once against a lefty this year, so ending the experiment shouldn't significantly affect his playing time.

Belt is not in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Angels, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

As per usual, Belt will retreat to the bench with a left-hander in Patrick Sandoval toeing the rubber for the opposition. Wilmer Flores is covering first base in his place Wednesday, with Austin Slater starting at DH.

Dickerson is not starting Wednesday against the Angels, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Dickerson will head to the bench with lefty Patrick Sandoval starting for the opposition. Darin Ruf is starting in left field and hitting seventh in his place Wednesday.

Alvarez (knee) may be done for the year, according to a radio interview manager Dusty Baker did with Sports Talk 790.

This ominous knee issue has plagued Alvarez dating back to last year, and it was disconcerting to see it pop up almost immediately after returning from the COVID-19 injured list. The team remains very vague about the nature of the injury and whether or not it will require surgery. Abraham Toro is a candidate to see an uptick in playing time with Alvarez out of the mix for the foreseeable future.

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a double in a loss to the Cubs on Tuesday.

Carpenter worked out of the cleanup spot and generated one of three multi-hit efforts on the night for the Cardinals. The veteran has hit safely in four of St. Louis' first six games since the team resumed play Saturday, and he's compiled five RBI over that span despite Tuesday's two-bagger being his only extra-base hit during that span.

Martinez (illness) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Phillies.

Martinez exited Tuesday's game due to dehydration. It's not exactly clear what the root of Wednesday's absence is, but it's apparently serious enough to sideline him for at least one day. Xander Bogaerts will rest his legs as the designated hitter in his absence, while Tzu-Wei Lin starts at shortstop.

Lewis went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers.

He was the only Mariner to get on base more than once, as the team only managed three hits and two walks off Tony Gonsolin, plus a HBP on Dee Gordon. Lewis had a brief 0-for-12 mini-slump last week but he's since rebounded with six hits in his last three games, boosting his slash line back up to a stunning .344/.423/.522 with five homers, two steals, 16 runs and 17 RBI through 24 contests.