MLB Player News

Dickerson is not in Friday's lineup against the Mariners, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

He will head to the bench for the second game in a row with a southpaw (Yusei Kikuchi) toeing the rubber for Seattle. Dickerson homered off the bench Thursday and should start Saturday's game with righty Chris Flexen starting for the Mariners. In the meantime, Austin Slater draws another leadoff start in left.

Dickerson hit a solo home run in his only at-bat in Thursday's 8-7 extra-inning loss to the Mariners.

Dickerson pinch hit for Austin Slater in the ninth inning. The move worked, as Dickerson's homer tied the game at 7-7, forcing an extra inning. The 30-year-old outfielder hit 10 homers and slashed .298/.371/.576 in 52 games last season as a near-everyday presence in the Giants' lineup. He figures to work the strong side of a platoon in left field, while Slater will often start against southpaws.

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

Dickerson is expected to work on the strong side of a platoon in 2021, and he'll take a seat for Thursday's season opener with southpaw Marco Gonzales starting for Seattle. Austin Slater will take over in left field and lead off Thursday.

Harper finished with a .343/.477/.771 slash line to go with four home runs across 35 at-bats during Grapefruit League play.

Harper typically hit in the No. 3 spot throughout the spring, and he should slot in behind Andrew McCutchen and J.T. Realmuto or Rhys Hoskins in the batting order when Philadelphia opens its season Thursday against Atlanta lefty Max Fried. Even by Harper's lofty standards, he turned in an outstanding 2020 season that somewhat slipped under the radar, with a magnificent 20.5 percent walk rate propelling him to a .962 OPS, the third-best mark of his career. The 28-year-old continued to show a discerning eye at the dish this spring, drawing nine walks against 11 strikeouts.

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt confirmed Sunday that Carpenter will begin the season as a reserve after Tommy Edman was named St. Louis' everyday second baseman, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

St. Louis may have considered giving Edman more work in the corner outfield if Carpenter had swung a hot bat this spring, but that failed to materialize. Instead, the 35-year-old has gotten off to a 1-for-34 start to the Grapefruit League slate heading into Sunday's game against the Nationals, effectively ending any hope Carpenter had of beginning the season as a full-time player. Carpenter should still have a decent chance at cracking the lineup when the Cardinals are playing in an American League park, or when Edman, Nolan Arenado or Paul Goldschmidt require a day out of the field.

Manager Craig Counsell said Sunday that Vogelbach has secured a spot on the Brewers' Opening Day roster, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The lack of a universal designated hitter in 2021 will relegate Vogelbach to a bench role to start this season, after the 28-year-old slugger had previously been a mainstay in the lineup for the final month of last season upon being scooped up off waivers from Toronto last September. While the lack of regular at-bats will severely limit Vogelbach's fantasy value when top first baseman Keston Hiura is available, Counsell envisions Vogelbach filling an important role as a pinch-hitting extraordinaire for Milwaukee. Per McCalvy, Counsell said he's aiming to find ways to get Vogelbach at least one at-bat per game.

Miller (oblique) will serve as the Phillies' designated hitter and will bat seventh in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Miller will be back in the Phillies' spring lineup for the first time since March 10 after an oblique injury kept him sidelined for nearly three weeks. Since the Phillies are breaking him back in as a DH rather than in the field, Miller may not be back to 100 percent yet, but he still seems to have a decent chance of being included on the Opening Day roster.

Ruf and LaMonte Wade are the candidates for the last reserve spot on the 26-man roster, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Ruf is out of minor-league options, which could help keep him in the majors. Ruf is hitting just .195 (8-for-41) with a home run this spring.

Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

The veteran slugger took Chaz Roe deep in the sixth inning for his second homer of the spring. Ozuna has only gone 7-for-31 (.226) in Grapefruit League play, but five of those seven hits have gone for extra bases, and his 7:10 BB:K suggests he's been seeing the ball well. After posting a career-high 1.067 OPS last year in his first season with Atlanta, Ozuna is expected to hit cleanup behind the table-setting trio of Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman, a spot that should have him among the league leaders in RBI opportunities.

Belt (heel) felt good after making his first start of spring training Thursday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Belt debuted in spring training as a pinch hitter Wednesday, but he made his first start at first base Thursday. While he admitted he's not quite at full strength, he felt good in the field and is hoping to be ready for the start of the season.