MLB Player News

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 9-1 win over Kansas City.

Pederson is in the midst of a power surge, having swatted four homers over the last four games. He's lately getting turns as the team's leadoff batter and is slashing .295/.380/.682 with six walks, five home runs and nine RBI over 14 games in that role.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI during the Rays' 8-5 win over the Angels on Friday.

Diaz put the Rays on the board early, taking the second pitch he saw from Walbert Urena deep to right field for a leadoff home run. Diaz proceeded to kick-start the Rays' seven-run seventh inning with a two-run blast, marking his first multi-homer game since Aug. 2 against the Dodgers. He's up to 10 home runs on the season, six of which have come in 21 games since May 1. Diaz's .313 batting average leads the American League, and he also ranks sixth in the AL in OBP (.392) and seventh in both slugging percentage (.523) and hits (61) across 222 plate appearances.

Soler revealed Wednesday that he's able to run only at 60-to-70 percent due to a groin injury that popped up "a few days ago," Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The injury cost the Angels on Wednesday, as Soler was forced out at second base in the second inning on a play he normally would've beaten out had he been healthy. Soler is back in the Angels' lineup Thursday in Detroit, and manager Kurt Suzuki indicated he has no plans to rest the designated hitter, noting of Soler's injury that "there's always these things you go through." The 34-year-old has exactly one hit in each of his last seven starts, though six of those hits have been singles.

Yoshida is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com

Yoshida will sit out of Thursday's lineup since left-hander Chris Sale is taking the mound for Atlanta. Boston will opt to go with Andruw Monasterio as the DH, batting fifth. Yoshida has only recorded 16 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers this season and has a .200/.250/.333 slash line in that split.

Pederson went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs and a third run scored in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Astros.

Pederson and opposing designated hitter Yordan Alvarez stole the show, each hitting two homers in the contest. Pederson has gone 10-for-23 (.435) with three homers and six RBI over his last eight games. He's now batting .250 with a .791 OPS, six long balls, 16 RBI, 20 runs scored, five doubles and no stolen bases over 51 contests this season. The 34-year-old should continue to fill a strong-side platoon role at DH while routinely hitting leadoff when in the lineup.

Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs and a walk in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Rangers.

Alvarez has feasted on Texas pitching in this series, going 6-for-12 with five homers and eight RBI over the last three games. He's recorded his two multi-homer games of the year over the last two contests and is up to 20 long balls on the year. The slugger is batting .312 with a 1.085 OPS, 39 RBI, 36 runs scored, one stolen base and 11 doubles across 56 games in what has started out as an MVP-caliber season.

The Rangers designated McCutchen for assignment Wednesday.

McCutchen will give up his spot on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster to infielder Nicky Lopez, whom the Rangers signed to a one-year contract. After joining Texas late in spring training on a minor-league deal, the 39-year-old McCutchen was able to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster but proceeded to hit just .192/.277/.260 with a career-worst 26.5 percent strikeout rate in 83 plate appearances. Given McCutchen's struggles with Texas this season along with the fact that he's best suited as a designated hitter rather than a corner outfielder at this stage of his career, the five-time All-Star may not be able to find another opportunity at the big-league level.

Gasper will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game versus Atlanta.

It's the second straight start behind the plate and third start over the last four contests for Gasper. The Red Sox are carrying three catchers and have been using all of them, with Gasper, Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong all netting at least two starts at catcher over the last 10 games. Gasper also has an additional three starts at designated hitter during that stretch.

Canzone is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.

The Mariners will keep Canzone and fellow left-handed hitter Luke Raley on the bench for the second game in a row while the Athletics send another lefty starter (Jeffrey Springs) to the hill. Seattle will go with Randy Arozarena as its designated hitter and Rob Refsnyder, Julio Rodriguez and Victor Robles as its starting outfield trio for the series finale in Sacramento.

Rooker is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

The Athletics will send Rooker to the bench for the second time in four contests, with both of his absences coming in day games after night games. Since rejoining the Athletics on April 26 following a stint on the injured list, Rooker hasn't been able to gain much momentum at the dish. He's slashing just .206/.289/.373 while striking out at a 30.7 percent clip over the past month.