MLB Player News

The Giants expect Pederson (hand) to return from the 10-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's series opener in Colorado, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

On the shelf since May 15 with a right hand contusion, Pederson is nearing the finish line in his recovery from the injury after he headed out on a minor-league rehab assignment with Single-A San Jose this weekend. Assuming he comes out of Sunday's game with San Jose no worse for the wear, Pederson should reclaim a role with the Giants as a strong-side platoon option at designated hitter once activated.

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

Vogelbach is just 3-for-27 over his past 12 games but continues to see regular action as the Mets' designated hitter. Mark Vientos will receive the start Sunday with lefty Yusei Kikuchi on the mound for Toronto.

Blackmon is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Royals.

Blackmon is 2-for-14 since returning from the bereavement list Thursday and will take a seat for Sunday's series finale in Kansas City. Elehuris Montero will serve as the designated hitter while Brenton Doyle steps into the leadoff spot.

McCutchen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

With the series finale beginning at 11:35 a.m. ET, the 36-year-old McCutchen is on the bench in what most likely amounts to a veteran's day off. Bryan Reynolds will get a day out of the outfield and replace McCutchen as the Bucs' designated hitter.

The Cardinals selected Baker's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. He'll serve as St. Louis' designated hitter and No. 7 batter in his MLB debut in the Cardinals' series finale versus the Pirates and left-hander Rich Hill.

The 26-year-old earned his first big-league call-up after slashing .313/.434/.641 with 29 extra-base hits (18 home runs, 11 doubles) to go with an impressive 17.8 percent walk rate and 21.7 percent strikeout rate over 244 plate appearances with Memphis. Though his bat certainly looks big-league ready, Baker's lack of defensive flexibility may hurt his chances of earning a permanent role with the Cardinals. He's played only at first base in the minors, and with reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt already entrenched at that position, Baker's path to playing time will likely come solely at designated hitter. Baker is further hurt by the fact that he's a right-handed hitter, potentially relegating him to the short side of a platoon.

Morel is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Padres.

Morel has not picked up a hit since May 26 against the Reds, and he's seen his average drop from .333 to .270 in the process. Edwin Rios will be the designated hitter and hit seventh against San Diego while Morel sits.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run in Friday's 8-4 win against the Yankees.

Martinez cracked a 413-foor solo shot to center field in the third inning for his 13th homer of the season over 166 at-bats. That's just three short of his total with Boston last year in 533 at-bats. The veteran has been particularly hot of late, going deep in four of his past five games and belting eight long balls across his past 12 contests. He also has 19 RBI and a .388/.396/.939 slash during the 12-game stretch.

The Brewers placed Ruf on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right knee laceration.

Ruf had to be pulled from Friday's game against Cincinnati after colliding with the tarp while chasing a foul ball, and apparently the damage was significant enough to warrant him being shut down for 10 days. Jon Singleton was selected from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.

Pederson (hand) will begin a rehab assignment Saturday with Low-A San Jose, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

Pederson will get a chance to face live pitching again after being placed on the IL on May 13 with a bruised right hand. The outfielder will likely need a few rehab games in the minors, but he could return as an everyday option for the Giants in the middle of next week.

Ruf was pulled from the Brewers' game against Cincinnati on Friday due to a right knee laceration, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Ruf came up bleeding after colliding with the tarp while chasing a foul ball. It's not yet clear how much time he might miss due to the injury.