MLB Player News

Buxton is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Houston, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

He also didn't start the series opener Monday. While Buxton hasn't had a setback with his knee issue, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli admits that the slugger is playing at less than 100 percent. "Is he at his absolute strongest and most dynamic right now? No, he's not, so we want to take this as really an opportunity to let him recharge a little bit," Baldelli said. The Twins are going with Joey Gallo at designated hitter against Astros righty Hunter Brown.

Belt (illness) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.

After he was removed from Tuesday's 7-2 win with a stomach ailment, Belt will get at least one day off to fully recover. With Belt on the bench, George Springer will handle designated-hitter duties for Toronto.

Ruf is not in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Ruf has seen a good amount of playing time since joining the Brewers in mid-May, even taking some turns at leadoff, but he'll head to the bench Wednesday versus the Jays and right-hander Alek Manoah. William Contreras is filling the DH role with Victor Caratini playing catcher.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter broke out of a five-game hitless skid in Tuesday's 9-4 win with a pair of doubles and three RBI, but he'll hit the bench Wednesday with left-hander Braxton Garrett on the mound for Miami. Nelson Cruz will handle designated-hitter duties and hit seventh in place of Carpenter.

Vientos is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Phillies, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

With right-hander Aaron Nola toeing the slab for the Phillies, Mets manager Buck Showalter will roll with the lefty-hitting Daniel Vogelbach in the designated-hitter spot. Vientos has started seven of the Mets' 13 games since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, but only three of those starts have come versus right-handed pitching.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Choi (Achilles) is participating in "about all" baseball activities in his rehab, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Choi was able to start fielding grounders last week as he recovers from his left Achilles strain, and he's since been able to ramp up his activities even more, with Tomczyk also mentioning that the 32-year-old has started a running progression, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The veteran first baseman was transferred to the 60-day injured list in April, so the earliest he'll be able to return to the Pittsburgh lineup is around mid-June.

Morel is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

The slumping Morel will head to the bench for the second time in the series, opening up a spot in the lineup for Miles Mastrobuoni at second base while Nico Hoerner gets a day out of the field and serves as the Cubs' designated hitter. After slugging nine home runs and driving in 15 runs in his first 12 games with the Cubs following his promotion from Triple-A Iowa on May 8, Morel has gone 1-for-17 with seven strikeouts and one walk over his last five starts.

Cabrera went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's loss against the Rangers.

Cabrera set a season high with three hits against the Rangers, snapping a 2-for-24 stretch. His fifth-inning double was also his first extra-base hit since April 12. Overall, it's been a tough year for the 40-year-old Cabrera. He's now slashing just .196/.272/.239 with seven RBI and no home runs through 103 plate appearances.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI in Tuesday's 9-4 victory over the Marlins.

Carpenter got San Diego on the board with an RBI double off Sandy Alcantara in the fourth inning, tying the game 1-1. He'd drive in another two runs with his second double in the ninth inning, extending the Padres' lead to 8-4. It's a step in the right direction for Carpenter, who'd been stuck in an 0-for-19 slump coming into Tuesday's contest. He's still slashing just .184/.307/.368 with four home runs and 24 RBI through 137 plate appearances while platooning with Nelson Cruz at DH.

Martinez went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 9-3 win over the Nationals.

Martinez extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his seventh-inning blast. He's batting .333 (20-for-60) in that span, and he's gone deep in three straight games and five of his last eight. The designated hitter's surge has him up to a .277/.312/.610 slash line with 12 long balls, 39 RBI, 25 runs scored and 13 doubles through 40 contests this season. He remains a fixture in the heart of the Dodgers' potent lineup.