MLB Player News

Choi is not in the starting lineup Friday against the White Sox, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Choi will remain on the bench for a second game in a row as the Pirates start their series with Chicago. Andrew McCutchen will handle the designated hitter role while Jack Suwinski enters the lineup in center field and bats sixth versus the White Sox.

Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in a loss to Atlanta on Thursday.

Carpenter's lone hit of the game was a big one, as his three-run homer off Spencer Strider in the third inning gave San Diego its first lead. The long ball was the veteran's first as a Padre, and it gave him six RBI through six games this season. Carpenter has posted a .250/.400/.500 slash line over 20 plate appearances as the team's primary DH.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a single and a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-2 victory over the Nationals.

After an 0-for-8 slump, Ramirez broke out with two hits, including a solo home run in the sixth inning that extended the Rays' lead to 4-2. Despite the positive outing, the 28-year-old must compete with Luke Raley for designated hitter responsibilities, where whomever has the better pitching matchup will likely get the start. Although Ramirez has demonstrated the potential to make a significant impact, he may not be a substantial contributor if the Rays can remain in decent health.

Ozuna is out of the lineup Thursday against the Padres.

The hot-hitting Travis d'Arnaud will bat cleanup as the designated hitter, with Kevin Pillar covering left field and hitting eighth. Ozuna is just 1-for-17 (.059) with six strikeouts out of the gate this season.

Jimenez (hamstring) was able to play catch and do some running Thursday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Jimenez said afterward that he would be able to pinch-hit Thursday if he was on the active roster. He's not, of course, after being placed on the injured list Wednesday, but it's a good sign that he could be ready to go when his 10 days are up or shortly thereafter.

Reyes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Blue Jays.

Reyes has started at designated hitter in four of the Royals' first six games, going 1-for-12 with a solo home run. Rather than guaranteeing Reyes an everyday role, the Royals are likely to take a committee approach to the DH spot, though the 27-year-old could end up getting the lion's share of starts if he can trim down his strikeouts and re-emerge as the premium power hitter he was earlier in his career during stops with San Diego and Cleveland.

Ohtani (1-0) earned the win over Seattle on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and four walks while striking out eight batters over six innings. At the plate, he went 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI.

Ohtani struggled early in the contest, walking the first two batters he faced before giving up a run-scoring single. He managed to get out of the first inning having allowed just that one run, and although Ohtani yielded five more baserunners in the subsequent two frames, Seattle was unable to score again while he was in the game. The two-way star clearly didn't have his best control Wednesday -- he issued four walks in total and also hit two batters in addition to uncorking a wild pitch -- so it's impressive that he was able to manage both a quality start and a win. Ohtani has impressed as both a pitcher and a hitter this season, allowing just one run and posting an 18:7 K:BB over 12 innings from the mound and posting a .286/.400/.571 slash line with two homers at the plate.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Red Sox.

The veteran outfielder has had a bit of a slow start at the plate to begin his second tour of duty with the Pirates, going 4-for-15 (.267) through six games with his only extra-base hit being a double, but he's drawn seven walks and stole his first base of the year Wednesday. McCutchen hasn't swiped double-digit bags since 2018, but the 36-year-old still boasted a sprint speed in the 90th percentile last year according to Statcast. If he keeps getting on base at a good clip, he could be one of the players who benefits most from MLB's rule changes to boost the running game.

Soler went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Twins.

After taking Pablo Lopez deep for a solo shot in the first inning to open the scoring, Soler emphatically ended it with a three-run blast off Caleb Thielbar in the eighth with a line drive down the left-field line. The 31-year-old slugger had only 13 homers in 72 games last season, but Soler already has three in the first seven contests of 2023 along with three doubles, accounting for six of his seven hits.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told reporters before Wednesday's game against the Giants that he's hopeful Jimenez (hamstring) will miss only two weeks, Scot Gregor of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Jimenez strained his left hamstring going from first to third Monday, and he was placed on the injured list Wednesday. There's a chance that the injury could keep him out longer than those two weeks, but it appears the tentative timetable has the 26-year-old returning before the end of April.