MLB Player News

Buxton (knee) is back in the lineup, hitting ninth and manning center field Thursday against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

The speedy center fielder will return after a three-game absence with the knee injury. It's been a very disappointing season for Buxton, who entered the season as a consensus top-two prospect in baseball. The speed and gold glove caliber center field defense has been on display, but his .199/.254/.325 slash line and 36.3 percent K-rate are cause for pessimism. Nonetheless, he should be a good source of steals down the stretch, and has enough talent to salvage things at the plate in 2017.

Martinez is starting in right field and hitting fifth Thursday against the White Sox.

This is his first start since coming off the DL on Wednesday, although he has already made his presence felt by hitting a pinch-hit home run in Wednesday's game. He should be in the lineup almost every day going forward, and can be deployed in all formats.

Martinez (elbow) hit a pinch-hit home run in Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

Martinez returned to the Detroit Tigers in style. After not playing since fracturing his elbow June 16, he pinch-hit in the eighth inning and hit Chris Sale's first pitch into the shrubs above the center field fence to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. The scene was electric at U.S. Cellular Field as Martinez was the hero in the comeback victory. Expect to see the outfielder to return to everyday duty beginning Thursday.

Manager Terry Collins stated after Wednesday's game that Cespedes (quad) will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, James Wagner of the New York Time reports.

After sitting out of the starting lineup the previous three days (he pinch hit Tuesday), Cespedes returned to the starting lineup, going 1-fo-5 on the night. The quad must still be giving him troubles, enough so that he will skip 15 more days at a minimum. Had he not played either of the past two days, the team would be able to backdate the injury, but the soonest he can return now comes Aug. 19 against the Giants. Michael Conforto could see increased playing time in Cespedes' absence, but the team recalled Brandon Nimmo to replace Cespedes on the 25-man roster and should be in the mix as well.

Cespedes aggravated his quad inning in his final at-bat Wednesday and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Cespedes has been trying to play through the injury for several weeks but finally will be shut down due to it. Brandon Nimmo, who was just sent down Tuesday, is being called back up to replace Cespedes on the 25-man roster.

Martinez (elbow) was activated from the 15-day DL but is not in the lineup Wednesday against the White Sox.

It was anticipated that he would be activated Wednesday, and while manager Brad Ausmus said Martinez is available to pinch hit, he also said he would prefer to give him the day off after the outfielder played two games in Toledo on Tuesday. Look for Martinez to get back in the Tigers' lineup Thursday against the White Sox.

The Pirates are expected to keep McCutchen on the bench for both Wednesday and Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Including Monday's off day, that would give the center fielder four full days of rest prior to Friday's home game against Cincinnati. Pittsburgh has to hope the time away gives McCutchen enough of a break to reset both on the field and off -- he was critical of the team's recent deadline deals.

As expected, Cespedes is hitting third as the designated hitter for the Mets on Wednesday.

Manager Terry Collins indicated on Tuesday that Cespedes would be the Mets' DH as they face the Yankees and Tigers on the road the next five games. This will give more time for Cespedes to rest his quad in the coming days.

Buxton (knee) remains out of the lineup Wednesday against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

While Buxton was supposedly available to pinch hit in Tuesday's game, and manager Paul Molitor said he considered sending in his speedy center fielder as a pinch runner late in that game, he is still not ready to return to the lineup Wednesday. Given Buxton's injury history, there is no reason for the Twins to deploy him until he is 100 percent healthy. Eddie Rosario will get the start in center field while Danny Santana starts in left Wednesday.

Vargas is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Vargas is out of the lineup for the second consecutive game as Miguel Sano gets the start at DH. He has been decent since the All-Star break, hitting .250/.351/.396 with one home run and six RBI in 13 games.