MLB Player News

Soler (groin) is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates.

Soler's right groin injury will send him to the bench for the second game in a row. Hunter Dozier will be deployed as the Royals' designated hitter Monday, opening up a spot in right field for Edward Olivares.

Ohtani is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Giants, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Angels won't have the designated hitter available for their two-game set in San Francisco, so Ohtani will be on the bench Monday, and most likely Tuesday as well. Manager Joe Maddon suggested Ohtani could come off the bench as a pinch-hitter and possibly play a couple innings in the outfield late in the contest if the Angels need his powerful bat in the lineup.

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with two doubles in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Operating out of the leadoff spot for the first time all season, Carpenter came through with his second and third doubles of his last two starts. The struggling veteran has actually boosted his batting average 38 points with his pair of multi-hit efforts in that span, but his season slash line still sits at an unacceptable .151/.292/.304 across 96 plate appearances.

Martinez (foot) is starting Monday's game against the Astros, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Martinez was held out of Sunday's lineup after he fouled a ball off his left foot Saturday. However, he'll serve as the designated hitter and bat third Monday.

Manager Dusty Baker said Monday that Alvarez (wrist) will remain unavailable for the series opener against the Red Sox, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Baker said Sunday that he didn't think Alvarez would play Monday, and this confirms that the slugger will indeed miss his fifth straight game with the wrist issue. Alvarez will seek to return to the lineup Tuesday.

Winker isn't starting Monday's game against the Phillies.

Winker had gone 7-for-19 with three runs, an RBI, three walks and two strikeouts across his last five games. Shogo Akiyama will take over in left field and bat eighth.

Ford is not in the starting lineup Monday against the Rays.

With lefty Rich Hill taking the ball for the Rays, Ford will sit for the second straight game. DJ LeMahieu will play first base with Rougned Odor manning the keystone.

Blackmon went 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, two RBI, two runs and a walk in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Pirates.

Blackmon recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the year Sunday, and he came within a home run of hitting for the cycle. The 34-year-old helped spark a late-game rally to lead the Rockies to the narrow win. Blackmon is now slashing .250/.351/.381 with three home runs, 25 RBI and 20 runs this season, though he's only homered once since May 4 and has yet to steal a base this season.

Miller went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Sunday's loss to the Rays.

Miller was trapped in a tough 1-for-13 stretch before this game, but he managed to be one of the few contributors for the Phillies in this loss. The 31-year-old has four multi-hit games over his last eight contests, however, so he's still seeing the ball well even if he has lacked consistency of late.

Alvarez (wrist) is unlikely to play Monday against the Red Sox, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez has missed the last four games due to right wrist soreness, and manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that he'll try to avoid using the 23-year-old Monday. Alvarez is still considered day-to-day, but it's possible that he could land on the injured list if he isn't able to return early in the upcoming series against Boston.