MLB Player News

Alvarez (paternity) returned to the Astros' 26-man roster Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The slugger missed three games but will surely be back in the Astros' lineup when they begin their series against the Athletics on Tuesday. Alvarez hit .250 with three homers and nine RBI in eight games before going on paternity leave.

Torrens went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Rangers.

Torrens slammed a three-run bomb in the fourth inning off Mike Foltynewicz to open up a 3-0 lead. The catcher has hit home runs in back-to-back games, although he is batting just .179 over his last eight games. On the season, he is slashing .209/.267/.455 with nine long balls and 19 RBI in 146 plate appearances. The 25-year-old is in a fairly even timeshare behind the plate with Tom Murphy.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Orioles.

Ohtani went deep off of Tom Eshelman in the third inning for his league-leading 31st home run of the year. He has eight homers in his last nine games and has firmly entrenched himself ahead of everyone else as the home run king in baseball. For the year Ohtani is slashing .278/.366/.704 with 52 extra-base hits, 67 RBI, 60 runs scored, 12 steals and a 36:89 BB:K over 317 plate appearances.

Ruf went 2-for-4 with a double, two-run home run, an additional RBI and a strikeout as San Francisco beat Arizona 5-2 on Sunday.

Ruf plated Buster Posey with his first inning double and later smacked a two-run home run off Arizona starter Caleb Smith to extend San Francisco's lead to 5-0 in the sixth. It was a nice breakout performance after Ruf had gone 0-for-6 with three strikeouts across his last five appearances and his .250/.373/.510 slash line has continued a late-career renaissance that began in 2020.

Dickerson isn't starting Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs, a walk and a strikeout across the last two games, but he'll retreat to the bench with left-hander Caleb Smith starting for the Diamondbacks. Jaylin Davis will start in left field and bat eighth.

McCutchen exited Sunday's loss to the Padres with oblique tightness, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

McCutchen complained of oblique soreness during Sunday's contest, and he took himself out of the game with two outs in the top of the ninth inning rather than risking a more serious injury. The 34-year-old will be examined further Monday when the team travels to Chicago, and he should be considered day-to-day for now. Prior to his departure, the left fielder went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Ohtani went 0-for-2 with three walks and a run scored in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Orioles.

Although Ohtani didn't have a hit in this game, he was still very productive, reaching base three times. He is the hottest hitter in the game right now, and it's clear that pitchers are being very cautious when pitching to him. The 26-year-old is batting .321 with an OPS of 1.522 in his last 16 games. He has 13 home runs, 21 RBI and 11 walks in that stretch. On the season, he is slashing .278/.367/.700 with the most homers in all of baseball (30), 66 RBI and 12 steals in 313 plate appearances.

Choi went 1-for-1 with two walks in a loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday.

Choi was one of the few offensive bright spots for the spiraling Rays, pushing his season on-base percentage to a career-high .383 by reaching safely three times. The veteran has been particularly productive over the last week, hitting .350 (7-for-20) with a double, a home run, five RBI, three walks and three runs across his last six games.

Solak is not starting Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Despite an 0-for-3 effort Saturday, the 26-year-old has gone 8-for-29 with a homer and three RBI in his last seven games. Andy Ibanez will start at second base and bat sixth Sunday.

Soler is not starting Sunday's game against the Twins, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.

A 1-for-4 showing Saturday raised the outfielder's 2021 batting average to a still-dismal .185 through 254 at-bats. The power has also escaped Soler's game, as he's gone without a homer in 19 straight games and has hit just six all season. Ryan O'Hearn starts in right field Sunday, with Salvador Perez getting a day at designated hitter.