MLB Player News

Stanton (biceps) could resume swinging a bat when the Yankees return to New York next weekend, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Stanton is in the midst of a 10-day shutdown period before the Yankees clear him to start up baseball activities again. It's expected that he'll be limited to dry swings initially, but he could hit against soft-tossing pitching soon after that if he's healed from the left biceps strain as anticipated. The Yankees haven't ruled out a late-April return for the slugging outfielder.

Choi is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

The Rays will keep three lefty hitting regulars (Choi, Austin Meadows and Brandon Lowe) on the bench in the series finale with southpaw Drew Pomeranz twirling for the Giants. Yandy Diaz moves across the diamond to replace Choi at first base, while Christian Arroyo enters the lineup at the hot corner.

Choi went 2-for-4 with a run-scoring single and an RBI double in a loss to the Giants on Saturday.

Choi's season-opening hot streak continued in fine fashion, with the 27-year-old accounting for half of his team's runs on the afternoon. Choi has feasted on Giants pitching over the first two games of the interleague matchup, going 5-for-8 with a pair of two-baggers and Saturday's two RBI.

Reyes is starting in right field and batting fifth against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Reyes was held out of the lineup Saturday as he has begun the season 2-for-19, but he returns to action for the series finale. The Padres will start Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot and Reyes in the outfield from left to right, with Wil Myers taking the day off.

Buxton will start in center field and bat eighth Sunday against the Phillies.

Buxton's ability to start back-to-back games suggests the Twins harbor no concerns about his health after a back contusion limited him to a bench role Wednesday and Friday. In his return to the lineup Saturday, Buxton went 1-for-3 with a walk, run and stolen base.

Alvarez hit three solo home runs for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.

Alvarez, Houston's third-ranked prospect, had himself a day to remember. The left-handed hitting outfielder showed off his all-fields stroke, depositing two of his home runs into the left-center seats and the third to straight-away center. The 21-year-old exploded as a prospect in 2018, bashing 20 homers between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno while having no issue against left-handed pitching (.349/.384/.453). The Astros are chock full of outfielders in Houston, and Alvarez is behind fellow Round Rocker Kyle Tucker as a prospect, so don't expect him to have any significant role in the majors in 2019.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a second run scored in Saturday's 6-0 win over the A's.

The outfielder's second home run of the year was part of a four-run fifth inning that broke the game open. Brantley is only hitting .219 (7-for-32) through nine games to begin his Houston tenure, but he has solid five-category upside as long as he keeps his spot in the heart of the Astros' order.

Belt went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in the Giants' 6-4 win over Tampa Bay Saturday.

Belt hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning off Ryan Yarbrough, increasing the San Francisco lead to three runs. He also had an RBI single in the third inning. The 30-year old has his batting average up to .250 and has three home runs and eight RBI for the season.

Ozuna went 1-for-3 with two-run homer in a 6-4 loss to the Padres on Saturday.

Ozuna was back in the lineup Friday after an MRI on Thursday revealed no major concerns with his strained side. Ozuna's fifth-inning homer means that the outfielder has now hit safely in six of seven games he's played, and his batting average is now up to .250 on the season.

Jimenez went 3-for-4 in Saturday's 9-2 loss to Seattle.

Jimenez singled the first three times he went to the plate, giving him the first three-hit day of his career. The rookie still seeks his first extra-base hit, but, after a slow start, he's gone 5-for-13 over the last three games. He's seeing a steady dose of off-speed pitches, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports, citing Statcast figures that indicate 55 percent 119 pitches he's faced are off-speed offerings. The White Sox are hopeful he'll continue to adjust to how opponents are game-planning him.