MLB Player News

Choi (ear/head) is out of the lineup versus the Yankees on Thursday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi will remain on the bench for a second straight day after colliding with Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez on a play at the plate. Fortunately, he avoided a concussion and could return to the lineup Friday against the Blue Jays. C.J. Cron will serve as the club's DH for Thursday's series finale.

McCutchen is out of the lineup against the Rays on Thursday, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

McCutchen will take a seat after going 5-for-11 with a solo home run and three walks during the first three games of this series. This marks the 31-year-old's first day off as a member of the Yankees after joining the club at the end of August. Manager Aaron Boone will send out an outfield of Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton for the series finale.

Martinez is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Orioles, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Martinez will take a seat for the second half of Wednesday's twin bill after going 3-for-5 with a double, a homer, three RBI and three runs scored in Game 1 as the Red Sox won 19-3. The slugger is now hitting .330 with a 1.032 OPS through 147 games this season, and his 42 homers trail only Khris Davis (46). Rafael Devers is covering DH in Game 2, opening up a spot for Brock Holt to start at the hot corner.

Brantley (calf) is starting in left field and hitting second Wednesday against the White Sox, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Brantley won't be forced to miss any additional time after exiting Tuesday's game in the sixth inning with a right calf contusion. The outfielder will look to stay hot over the final week of the season as he's slashing .352/.410/.521 with three homers and three stolen bases in 18 games this month.

Choi (ear, head) does not have a concussion and could return to the lineup Thursday against the Yankees, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi required stitches in his ear following a home-plate collision with Gary Sanchez in Tuesday's game but appears to have avoided a more serious injury. He's not expected to appear off the bench Wednesday, but the Rays are optimistic that he'll wind up missing just one game.

Brantley was removed from Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the White Sox in the sixth inning after fouling a ball off his right calf earlier in the contest, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The Indians officially labeled Brantley's injury as a right calf contusion, with manager Terry Francona calling the outfielder "fine" after the contest. While the issue shouldn't prevent Brantley from filling a full-time role when postseason play gets underway, he could get a few maintenance days over the Tribe's final five regular-season contests.

Choi (ear/head) is not in the lineup against the Yankees on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

As expected, Choi will receive a day off after being removed from Tuesday's contest following a collision at home plate with Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez. Choi needed stitches to address a left ear laceration and experienced concussion-like symptoms after the game, but wasn't officially diagnosed with a concussion, according to Juan Toribio of The Athletic. Choi will remain in the MLB's concussion protocol for now, and if he ends up being diagnosed with the concussion, it's unlikely that he'll play again this season. C.J. Cron will replace Choi as the Rays' designated hitter Wednesday.

Ozuna went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run in a loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.

Ozuna has now hit safely in eight of the last nine games, and Tuesday's perfect night at the plate pushed his September average to .310. The outfielder has racked up 18 RBI during the month as well, and he's seemingly hit his stride at the plate as the regular season winds down.

Reyes went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, an RBI and one run scored in Tuesday's extra-innings loss to the Giants.

Reyes came through with a game-tying single with one out in the ninth inning, but the Padres would eventually drop this one in 12 innings. The 23-year-old has had a productive rookie campaign and is ending the season strong with 13 RBI and a .355/.410/.500 line in the final month.

Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Phillies.

Blackmon hit an RBI double -- his 29th two-bagger of the year -- off starter Vince Velasquez in the fourth inning, and has now recorded a hit in all but two games in the month of September. Blackmon is hitting .364 with four homers, 10 RBI and 18 runs in 23 games over that span. The 32-year-old leads the NL with 114 runs scored this season, and he's once again put up a hearty slash line of .289/.358/.492 with 27 homers and 66 RBI.