MLB Player News

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader split against the Cardinals.

After going 1-for-4 in the matinee, Ozuna piled up 855 feet worth of long balls off Sonny Gray in the nightcap, accounting for half of the four homers Atlanta slugged off the right-hander in a losing effort. Ozuna has hit safely in eight straight games, and through 62 plate appearances in July he's slashing .328/.355/.724 with seven home runs and 12 RBI. The 33-year-old needs to go yard twice more in 2024 to record the third 30-homer campaign of his career, and he's on pace to top the career-high 40 he launched just last season.

Ramirez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a 5-4 win against the Reds on Saturday.

After Cincinnati tallied two runs in the top of the first inning, Ramirez knotted up the score with a two-run blast in the bottom of the frame. The long ball ended a 45-game homerless stretch for the veteran dating back to April 15. Ramirez went deep a career-high 12 times last season, but he's homered only twice through 61 games this year.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a hit-by-pitch in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Cubs.

Pederson's steal was his first since June 14. He hit just .227 over the 21 contests between thefts, a noticeable cooldown for a player who is still batting .274 on the year. The slugger has added an .871 OPS, 13 home runs, 39 RBI, 34 runs scored and five steals over 81 contests in his usual strong-side platoon role.

Sanchez (calf) was sent to Triple-A Nashville on Friday to begin a rehab assignment, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy indicated last week that Sanchez was well ahead of schedule in his recovery, and he appears to be in the home stretch. Sanchez's rehab assignment comes three and a half weeks after he suffered a strained left calf, and while he'll likely be eased into catching duties, he could be activated in late July or early August.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

The Cubs are sending southpaw Justin Steele to the hill, so the left-handed hitting Pederson will begin the first game of the second half on the bench. Randal Grichuk will handle designated hitter duties.

Triple-A Iowa placed Mervis on its 7-day injured list July 4 with an apparent hand injury, Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register reports.

The Triple-A club hasn't provided official word on the nature of Mervis' injury, though Birch notes that the first baseman is suspected to be dealing with a broken hamate bone. Since being optioned to Iowa on May 4 after an abbreviated stint with the Cubs, Mervis was slashing .215/.286/.424 with eight home runs and a 26.7-percent strikeout rate over 37 games.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

As usual, the lefty-hitting Pederson will retreat to the bench while the Blue Jays bring a southpaw (Yusei Kikuchi) to the hill. Ketel Marte will replace Pederson as the Diamondbacks' designated hitter.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

The right-handed-hitting Ramirez drew the start at designated hitter in Saturday's 6-5 win while the Brewers brought lefty Dallas Keuchel to the hill, but Ramirez will hit the bench for Sunday's series finale. Ramirez, who owns a .576 OPS since being promoted from Triple-A Rochester on June 24, should continue to serve as a short-side platoon player for the Nationals.

McCutchen (hamstring) will serve as the Pirates' designated hitter and leadoff batter in Sunday's game against the White Sox.

McCutchen will return to the lineup after he was removed in the ninth inning of Saturday's 6-2 win with what the Pirates labeled as left hamstring discomfort. Even though the Pirates could have kept McCutchen out of the lineup in their final game before the All-Star break to give the veteran some extended time to rest up, he'll be ready to go Sunday, which suggests his removal from Saturday's contest was precautionary.

Martinez isn't in the starting lineup for Sunday's matchup versus Colorado.

He'll begin the final game before the All-Star break on the bench while Pete Alonso gets a day out of the field as the Mets' designated hitter. Martinez went hitless while striking out five times in eight at-bats over the first two games of the series and is batting just .194 with a home run, four RBI and a 37.2 percent strikeout rate across 11 contests in July.