MLB Player News

Ohtani is at DH and batting leadoff Friday in Houston.

Ohtani is also serving as the Angels' starting pitcher Friday night against the Astros. This will be the first look at leadoff in 2023 for the two-way sensation, who had exclusively hit third in his previous 56 games. He boasts an .872 OPS to go along with a 2.91 ERA.

Belt (illness) is back in the lineup Friday against the Mets.

Belt will fill the DH role for the Blue Jays and bat cleanup after missing a couple of games due to a stomach bug. He's shown a lot more life offensively over the last handful of weeks, slashing .333/.470/.470 in May after a brutal opening month.

Ramirez is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ramirez will take a seat after he went 1-for-7 with a strikeout while starting the last two games of a three-game series with the Cubs. Luke Raley will draw the start at designated hitter and bat seventh in the series opener with Boston.

Seattle selected Ford's contract from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

The 30-year-old joins the Mariners after slashing .302/.427/.605 with 13 home runs, 11 doubles and 56 RBI across 49 games (211 plate appearances) this season at the Triple-A level. Ford could get semi-regular looks at DH, though fantasy expectations should be tempered. He holds a career .201/.301/.387 slash line in the bigs.

Vientos is serving as the designated hitter and batting seventh Friday versus the Blue Jays.

Vientos gets the nod here over Daniel Vogelbach, even with right-hander Chris Bassitt on the mound for Toronto. Maybe it's a sign that the 23-year-old will be in for more of an everyday role moving forward. He's primarily been limited to starts against lefties since being recalled May 17 from Triple-A Syracuse.

Vogelbach is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Blue Jays.

Vogelbach will take a seat after he went 0-for-4 with two walks, a run scored and a strikeout over a three-game series with the Phillies. Mark Vientos will take over at designated hitter and bat seventh versus Toronto.

Buxton was lifted from Thursday's game against Cleveland after getting hit in the ribs by a pitch, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Buxton had been playing at less than 100 percent due to lingering knee problems, and now Buxton could be facing another injury, this one to his ribs. The team will take a look at him and provide an update on how serious his injury is, but Buxton should be considered day-to-day for the time being.

Canha went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer in Thursday's win over Philadelphia.

Canha's now homered on back-to-back days after going 19 games without a long ball. Thursday's two-run shot off Taijuan Walker would prove to be the difference in the Mets' 4-2 victory. The 34-year-old Canha is slashing .245/.330/.406 with five home runs, 18 RBI, 23 runs scored and two steals through 179 plate appearances this season.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Brantley (shoulder) hit off a tee Thursday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley began taking dry swings last week, but this was the first time he put bat-to-ball since his setback in early May. The veteran has been out all season while recovering from August 2022 shoulder labrum surgery and there remains no timetable for his 2023 debut, but he at least seems to be on the right track again with his rehab.

The Mariners will call up Ford from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Ford forced Seattle's hand by exercising the opt-out clause in his minor-league contract Thursday. The 30-year-old journeyman might prove to be a solid addition to the big-league roster, even as a bench bat, seeing as he's delivered a robust .302/.427/.605 slash line with 13 homers and 56 RBI through 49 games this season at Tacoma. As a left-handed hitter, he could power his way into a significant share of the platoon at designated hitter.