MLB Player News

Ohtani (arm) is starting as the Angels' designated hitter and batting second for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Reds, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Ohtani was removed from the first game of Wednesday's twin bill -- both on the mound and as a batter -- due to arm fatigue, but he is seemingly healthy enough to remain in Los Angeles' lineup. Arm fatigue has plagued Ohtani often as of late, and it's possible that he ends up taking another extended break from pitching in order to recover.

Harper went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in Wednesday's loss to the Giants.

Harper tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning with a clutch three-run homer off Camilo Doval. Harper's now homered in three straight contests despite being limited to DH duties while recovering from back stiffness. He's gone 12-for-26 (.462) with five long balls in his last seven games, boosting his slash line to .299/.392/.468 with 12 homers, 59 runs scored, 47 RBI and seven steals across 406 plate appearances this season.

Brantley (shoulder) will serve as the DH on Wednesday with Triple-A Sugar Land after starting in left field Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

These will be Brantley's first back-to-back games since he joined Sugar Land on a rehab assignment last Tuesday. Astros manager Dusty Baker said the team will "make a determination" on the 36-year-old's readiness Thursday, and he could perhaps make his 2023 debut for Houston this weekend in Detroit.

Manager Dusty Baker said he is "hopeful" Alvarez (finger) will be able to rejoin the lineup Thursday against the Red Sox, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chroniclereports.

The 26-year-old slugger is on the bench Wednesday for the second straight day after he accidentally slammed his left index finger in a door, but that could be the extent of his absence. Yainer Diaz is receiving another start at designated hitter in Alvarez's place versus Boston.

Ohtani was removed from the first half of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Reds as both a pitcher and hitter due to arm fatigue.

Ohtani slugged his 44th home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning before departing from the mound in the top of the second after a short conversation with a trainer. He was then replaced at designated hitter by Nolan Schanuel in the bottom of the third. The two-way superstar has been battling off-and-on fatigue for the last handful of weeks, and Wednesday's truncated start was his first pitching appearance since Aug. 9. He could require another extended break from that element of his game. It's also unclear whether Ohtani will be able to return to DH duties in the second half of Wednesday's twin bill.

Ohtani was lifted from his start in the first half of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Reds due to an apparent injury, Greg Beacham of The Associated Press reports.

Making his first pitching appearance since Aug. 9 following a two-week break to deal with general fatigue, Ohtani had thrown only 26 pitches before he exited with a trainer in the top of the second inning. The two-way superstar tallied two strikeouts across 1.1 scoreless frames in the abbreviated outing versus Cincinnati, yielding a walk but no hits among the five batters he faced. Ohtani still remains in the game as a hitter after he slugged a two-run home run -- his 44th of the season -- in his first plate appearance.

Alvarez (finger) remains out of the lineup Wednesday versus the Red Sox.

Alvarez was scratched Tuesday after injuring his left index finger when he slammed a door on his hand at home. Astros manager Dusty Baker said it should only be a day-to-day type of issue, which suggests that the big slugger might be able to return in full for Thursday's series finale against Boston. Yainer Diaz is filling the DH role for Houston on Wednesday.

Cooper will start at first base and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Cooper has largely served as a short-side platoon player between first base and designated hitter with the Padres, but he's carved out a larger share of the playing time versus right-handed pitching since Ji-Man Choi (rib) was placed on the 10-day injured list Aug. 14. Since Choi played his last game Aug. 11, Cooper has started nine of the Padres' subsequent 12 games, and two of those absences came over the weekend while Cooper dealt with a wrist injury.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said that Ohtani will not be under any workload restrictions in his return to the mound Wednesday versus the Reds, Brandon Deutsch of The Sporting Tribune reports.

It will be Ohtani's first start as a pitcher in two weeks, as he had his last outing skipped due to some fatigue. Wednesday's outing will be treated as a normal one, though, so fantasy managers don't have to worry about the superstar's workload being truncated.

Harper remains limited to designated hitter duty for the time being due to a nagging back issue, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

It explains why Harper hasn't been able to play first base since Sunday, as he's still dealing with a bit of back stiffness which first surfaced a couple weeks ago. The Phillies have not ruled out Harper returning to first base Friday following Thursday's off day.