MLB Player News

Canha was optioned back to Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

It was a short stint with the Athletics for Canha, who was called up August 2. The decision to send him down wasn't due to lack of production, as Canha had been seeing the ball well during his time with Oakland and hitting to the tune of a .313 average over five games. Regardless, the Athletics decided to stick with Matt Olson at first over Canha, who's hit .271 with four home runs at Triple-A this season.

Stanton supplied all the Marlins' offense Thursday, going 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 3-2 loss to the Nationals.

The 27-year-old just won't let up on opposing pitchers -- Stanton is now slashing .308/.379/1.038 over the last week with six homers and 11 RBI, and he continues to extend his MLB lead with 39 home runs on the season. The hot streak has also pushed his OPS up to a career-high .982, and as long as he stays healthy down the stretch there's no reason to expect him to slow down much when it comes to putting souvenirs in the seats.

Buxton went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI Thursday in Milwaukee.

Buxton hit RBI singles in the second and third innings while coming around to score on both occasions. He added another hit in the fifth to turn this into his fourth three-hit performance of the season. Buxton has exactly one of those in every month since May.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks.

The double broke up an ugly 0-for-21 stretch at the plate for the slugging outfielder. That kind of inconsistency -- and his regular benching against southpaws, is what holds Pederson back from being a reliable outfielder in standard formats. That said, when he is on, there aren't too many players who are more likely to go deep at any given moment, so those in need of power should stick by the 25-year-old.

Harper went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 10-1 rout of the Marlins.

It's his fourth multi-hit performance in the last six games, and Harper has a .375/.393/.625 slash line over that stretch with two homers, six runs and six RBI. With an NL East title and possible NL Triple Crown in his sights, expect the 24-year-old superstar to remain locked in over the final weeks of the season.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Martinez gave the Diamondbacks their only lead of the game in the sixth inning, when his RBI single plated A.J. Pollock. With eight home runs since his July 18 acquisition from the Tigers, Martinez has certainly met the Diamondbacks' expectations in the power department, and now he's begun to cut down on the strikeouts and make more consistent contact as well. Two of Martinez's three multi-hit games with the Diamondbacks have come in the last four contests.

Miller went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run Wednesday against the Red Sox.

Miller's solo shot off Rick Porcello was just his fifth long ball of the year, as his production has fallen off a cliff after last year's career-best 30-homer performance. His previous high in a season was 11, so Miller's disappointing .205/.344/.336 line makes a lot more sense in that context.

Vargas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester following Wednesday's game against the Brewers, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Vargas was only with the big club for one game before being sent back to Rochester to clear room for Thursday's starter, Dietrich Enns. The 27-year-old owns a .244/.291/.432 slash line with eight homers in 176 at-bats for the Twins this season. He'll likely be back in the majors again sometime before the season ends.

Belt (concussion) is scheduled to visit doctors Friday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt, who was placed on the disabled list over the weekend after taking a pitch off his helmet against the Diamondbacks, said he is feeling better and is expected to rest some more before being reevaluated. He isn't planning to see a specialist at this point -- which is good news -- though he still remains without a timetable for his return. More should be known following Friday's checkup.

Blackmon went 3-for-6 with a solo home run during Wednesday's win over Cleveland.

Blackmon just continues to pad his statistics, and the outfielder is now up to an elite .333/.388/.616 slash line with 27 homers, 74 RBI, nine stolen bases and 102 runs. Playing his home games at Coors Field should help Blackmon avoid a slump down the stretch, too.