MLB Player News

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base Thursday against the Mariners.

Ramirez drew his third start in the last five games in the absence of Ji-Man Choi (elbow) and with Josh Lowe back in Triple-A. He led off the second inning with a single and proceeded to swipe second base -- his first steal of the campaign. Two frames later, he singled in a run and also came around to score. Ramirez has now collected at least one hit in three of his last four starts, though he has no extra-base hits in that span.

Reyes went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Reyes was ice cold to start the season, but he's starting to find a groove. He's gone 6-for-13 across his last three games while adding three RBI and three runs scored. The 26-year-old lifted his slash line to .184/.220/.253 with two home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored in 21 contests. He's been hitting fifth or sixth in the order while he attempts to work through his slump.

Winker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to Tampa Bay.

It's been a rough start to the season for Winker, but he snapped a season-long power drought with a 411-foot solo shot to center in the fifth inning. The veteran came into the contest with just three extra-base hits -- all doubles -- over his first 105 plate appearances. After a career-best .305/.394/.556 slash line last season, Winker has hit just .189/.321/.256 in his first 26 games as a Mariner.

Harper went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, a double, two RBI and two runs scored Thursday against the Mets.

Harper recorded an RBI double in the first inning to open the scoring. He then went yard in the fourth inning to record his fifth homer of the season. Entering Thursday's game, Harper had recorded only one hit across his last 19 at-bats, though he's still managed a .343 wOBA and 122 wRC+ across his first 111 plate appearances of the season, including Thursday.

Cabrera went 3-for-4 in Thursday's loss to the Astros.

The three hits are nice, and Cabrera is batting a solid .284 this season, though he's not producing a ton of extra-base hits or counting stats. The veteran had three singles Thursday, giving him 18 for the season versus only two doubles and a single home run. As a result, Cabrera has just seven runs and seven RBI across 21 games. It's good that he's healthy and making regular contact, but the 39-year-old isn't doing much else for fantasy managers.

Buxton went 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in a 5-3 loss Thursday in Baltimore.

Buxton drove in all of Minnesota's runs Thursday with an RBI groundout in the third and a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth. The slugger has five home runs in his last nine appearances and has an incredible .716 SLG on the season. Over his last 162 games, dating back to May 19, 2019, he has hit 46 home runs. When healthy, he's proven he's one of the best power bats in all of baseball.

Choi (elbow) served as the designated hitter in an extended spring training game Thursday and will play first base Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi was confident that he would need only a short stint on the injured list, and his quick progress provides evidence of that. He is expected to rejoin the Rays at some point during the team's ongoing west coast road trip, which ends on May 11. Yandy Diaz has operated as the primary first baseman in Choi's absence.

Ohtani (3-2) picked up the win against Boston on Thursday, pitching seven scoreless innings on six hits while striking out 11 and walking zero. He also went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI as a hitter.

The groin injury Ohtani suffered during Sunday's 6-5 win over the White Sox doesn't appear to be an issue anymore, as the superstar registered his best pitching performance of the season. Ohtani faced traffic in nearly every inning, but he was able to get out of trouble with a big strikeout whenever he needed to while generating 29 swinging strikes. He also displayed his prowess at the plate, ripping an RBI-single off the Green Monster during the Angels' five-run eighth inning.

General manager Jerry Dipoto confirmed Thursday that the Mariners will keep Lewis on his minor-league rehab assignment for the majority of the allotted 20 days, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Dipoto said that he expects Lewis, who began the rehab assignment Tuesday, to remain at Triple-A Tacoma for the next two-and-a-half to three weeks before making his Mariners debut in the second half of May. The Mariners' decision to ease Lewis along slowly isn't too surprising, given that he's faced a lengthy recovery from the meniscus surgery he underwent last June. Lewis has gone 3-for-7 with a home run and a walk between his first two rehab games and is expected to rotate between designated hitter and the outfield throughout his time at Tacoma. Once activated from the 10-day injured list, Lewis could push for a near-everyday role with Mitch Haniger (ankle) out indefinitely and Jarred Kelenic having struggled mightily through the first month of the season.

Vientos is hitting just .167/.282/.303 with one homer across 21 games so far this season for Triple-A Syracuse.

After he hit 25 homers in just 83 games across Double-A and Triple-A last year, expectations were high for Vientos entering this season, but he simply hasn't delivered so far. If there's a bright side to be scraped from his stats, it's that he's drawn six walks in his last six games -- a big improvement from the four he managed in the first 15 -- but the 22-year-old's prospect luster has always stemmed from his massive raw power, and that's simply been missing in action. He's striking out at a career-high clip (32.1 percent), and his 66.7 percent groundball rate as well as his 23.1 percent flyball rate are well out of line with his career norms. It sure is hard to hit the ball over the fence often when you're hitting it on the ground two-thirds of the time. The good news is that Vientos has a lengthy minor-league track record of elevating the ball, so look for him to tweak his swing and get back to what he does best.