MLB Player News

Manager Mike Scioscia is hopeful Ohtani (elbow) can still be utilized as a hitter at some point this season, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani has already begun rehabbing his injured elbow, and even if he's not able to resume pitching in three weeks, the Angels haven't ruled out penciling him into the lineup as the designated hitter. The 23-year-old would need to be cleared to hit by the team doctor prior to returning to action. More news on Ohtani's status figures to be released following his reevaluation in early July.

General manager Billy Eppler said "there have been no changes in Ohtani's (elbow) diagnosis and neither our physicians nor medical staff have recommended (Tommy John surgery) or said it's likely," Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

It was reported earlier by Pedro Gomez of ESPN that the two-way superstar, who was placed on the disabled list Friday with a Grade 2 UCL sprain, would "probably" need Tommy John surgery to address the partial ligament tear in his right elbow. However, the Angels have since refuted that claim, confirming that they will reevaluate Ohtani in three weeks before determining the next step in his recovery. Surgery is certainly still on the table for the 23-year-old, but the Angels are hoping that Ohtani will be able to avoid the dreaded procedure with non-surgical methods of recovery. If Ohtani were ultimately forced to undergo surgery, he would likely be sidelined until 2020. He could return to the mound after the All-Star break if he avoids surgery, but either way, he's set for an extended absence.

There is concern within the Angels organization that Ohtani (elbow), who is recovering from a Grade 2 sprain of his right UCL, will require Tommy John surgery, Pedro Gomez of ESPN reports.

When the Angels placed Ohtani on the 10-day disabled list Friday, the team announced that the star rookie's status would be re-evaluated in three weeks after he received a stem-cell injection and platelet-rich plasma treatment to address the partial ligament tear. It sounds like the organization will wait until the end of the month to see how Ohtani's elbow responds to the treatment, but Gomez said that those close to the situation believe that surgery is "probably" inevitable. If Ohtani does need to go under the knife, it would spell an end to his 2018 season, and would likely keep him sidelined for the entire 2019 campaign as well. In the event Ohtani avoids a procedure on the elbow, he likely wouldn't be available to pitch until after the All-Star break at the earliest, dimming his outlook in single-season formats.

Buxton (toe) ran the bases Sunday and was able to take some swings with the bat, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It sounds like Buxton's broken left big toe is making some progress, but there's no timetable yet for his return. He will travel with the team on an upcoming road trip, but he'll need a minor-league rehab assignment given his time on the DL (since May 30).

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with one RBI during Sunday's loss to the Reds.

The 27-year-old outfielder got the Cardinals into the scoring column during the third inning with an RBI single to left, scoring Matt Carpenter. Ozuna had a decent weekend series against Cincinnati, as he went 4-for-12 with two extra-base hits, two RBI and one walk. After a slow start to the season, he's batting .278 with six homers and 32 RBI across 59 games, although his WAR has dipped drastically so far this year in comparison to a season ago (5.8 in 2017 to 0.7 in 2018).

Choi was traded from the Brewers to the Rays on Sunday in exchange for Brad Miller and cash considerations.

Choi had been sent down to Triple-A Colorado Springs earlier Sunday, but he'll now head to Triple-A Durham following the trade. He's been shipped back and forth between the minors and the big leagues this season, slashing .233/.281/.500 with two homers and five RBI through 12 games as a Brewer.

Miller was sent to the Brewers from the Rays in exchange for Ji-Man Choi and cash considerations Sunday.

Miller will head to Triple-A Colorado Springs after being dealt to Milwaukee. Through 48 games with the Rays this season, Miller is batting .256 with five homers and 21 RBI. He figures to be called up in the near future, with some of the Brewers' middle infielders struggling to produce at the dish so far this season.

Cespedes (hip, quadriceps) will travel to Florida this week to restart a rehab program, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic New York reports.

Cespedes was placed on the 10-day disabled list May 16 with a strained right hip flexor and was cleared to begin a rehab assignment Friday at Double-A Binghamton. The stint with the affiliate lasted just two games, however, as Cespedes was lifted from Saturday's contest with a tight right quad, an injury the veteran battled in 2016 and 2017. In light of Cespedes' setback, manager Mickey Callaway stated the outfielder will need to go through a full-blown rehabilitation stint prior to returning from the disabled list. The exact timetable for his return should become more clear once he progresses through various checkpoints in his rehab.

Pederson is out of the lineup Sunday against the Braves, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Unsurprisingly, the lefty-hitting Pederson will find his way to the bench with southpaw Sean Newcomb twirling for the Braves. In Pederson's stead, Enrique Hernandez will pick up a start in center field and bat cleanup.

Goins is out of the lineup Sunday against the Athletics, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Royals' willingness to deploy Whit Merrifield in center field and designated hitter of late has opened up more time at the keystone for Goins, who started at the position in both of the past two games. The spike in opportunities isn't quite enough to give Goins much fantasy upside, even in most AL-only formats. He's hitting .237 over 98 plate appearances this season and has yet to record a home run or a stolen base.