MLB Player News

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Brantley (shoulder) could be cleared to return from the 60-day injured list "hopefully by Tuesday," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Additionally, manager Dusty Baker told Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest that Brantley will meet the team in Boston ahead of the team's series versus the Red Sox this week, but whether the 36-year-old is activated will likely hinge on him getting the green light from Houston's training staff. Brantley wrapped up a seven-game rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday and went 8-for-23 with a home run, two doubles and a 4:0 BB:K during that stretch. If Brantley is reinstated from the 60-day IL this week, he could be eased into the Houston lineup as a part-time player initially.

Martini went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBI in Saturday's 8-7 win over Arizona.

Martini has now posted a monstrous 1.423 OPS through five games with the Reds since being called up from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday, and so long as he's wielding a hot bat, he'll likely continue to play on a near-everyday basis while Cincinnati is without the likes of Jonathan India (foot), Joey Votto (shoulder), Jake Fraley (toe) and Stuart Fairchild (concussion). Martini will serve as the Reds' designated hitter and No. 5 batter in Sunday's series finale.

Ford is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Ford will take a seat while Teoscar Hernandez gets a day out of the outfield to serve as Seattle's designated hitter. While starting in five of the Mariners' last six games, Ford went 5-for-18 with a home run, four walks, four runs and three RBI.

Stanton is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.

Stanton will get some routine maintenance after he started each of the last five games in either right field or at designated hitter while going 5-for-20 with one home run, two doubles, two walks and four RBI. Aaron Judge will get a turn as the Yankees' DH on Sunday while Oswaldo Cabrera mans right field.

McCutchen is not in the lineup Sunday versus the Cubs.

Bryan Reynolds will take a turn as the Pirates' designated hitter with Josh Palacios, Jack Suwinski and Connor Joe starting across the outfield. McCutchen remains one home run away from reaching 300 for his career.

Morel is not in the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

Ian Happ, Mike Tauchman and Seiya Suzuki will start across the outfield as Cody Bellinger takes a turn as the Cubs' designated hitter. Morel hit a double Saturday at Pittsburgh but is slashing just .117/.209/.250 over his last 67 plate appearances dating back to Aug. 3. He now finds himself on the bench for the fourth time in five games and may be moving into more of a part-time role.

The Mets activated Vientos (wrist) from the 10-day injured list Sunday. He'll start at third base and bat eighth in the Mets' series finale with the Angels.

Vientos will be back in action Sunday after missing exactly 10 days due to left wrist tendinitis. The 24-year-old has posted a disappointing .195/.230/.288 batting line across 126 major-league plate appearances this season, but he should play regularly down the stretch as the Mets look ahead to 2024 and beyond.

Baker went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Saturday in a loss to the Phillies.

Baker produced St. Louis' lone run of the contest with his solo shot off Zack Wheeler in the third inning. It was the 26-year-old's first major-league long ball, and there may be many more to come if his 33 homers over 84 games in the minors this season is any indication. Baker has played sparingly during his two call-ups to the big club, though he could start to see more opportunities down the stretch with the Cardinals sitting 12 games out of an NL wild-card spot.

Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Angels on Saturday.

Vogelbach narrowed the Mets' deficit to two with his solo shot in the sixth inning, but that was the last run scored by either team in the contest. The veteran slugger has been a solid source of power of late, going deep five times over his past 13 games. He's added 12 RBI and seven runs while batting .278 (10-for-36) over that span.

Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, two walks, two runs, an RBI and two stolen bases against the Mets in Saturday's 5-3 victory.

Though Ohtani has been ruled out from pitching again this season due to an elbow injury, he's continued to take his spot in the batting order as the Angels' designated hitter. Since being pulled early from the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, Ohtani has gone 4-for-10 at the dish with three doubles and a triple while starting at DH in each of Los Angeles' three contests. With his two thefts Saturday, the two-way star is up to 19 on the campaign to go along with 44 homers, putting him one steal away from his second career 40-20 effort. Only seven players in MLB history have ever logged multiple 40-20 seasons in their career.