MLB Player News

Winker was unavailable for Monday's game against San Diego due to back soreness, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Winker managed to enter Sunday's matchup as a pinch hitter, so while it appeared possible that his absence from Monday's lineup was due to a lefty taking the mound for the opposition, the Reds revealed after the contest that Winker is still being bothered by a sore back. He'll likely be re-evaluated prior to Tuesday's game to determine his availability moving forward.

Winker (back) is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Padres.

Though Winker will be on the bench for a fifth straight game, the Reds were satisfied enough with the condition of his back to deploy him as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals. Winker walked in his lone plate appearance and didn't stay in the game for the subsequent half inning, but it's not believed that he suffered a setback in his first game action since Aug. 14. Instead, Winker's continued absence from the lineup for Monday's series opener is most likely result of the Padres bringing a lefty (Eric Lauer) to the hill.

Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a walk in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Rockies.

After a hot start to his MLB career a few months ago, Ramirez had gone just 26-for-127 (.205) since the start of July before Sunday's three-hit outing. The rookie outfielder's OPS is back to .703 with 23 extra-base hits this season.

Blackmon went 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored, two RBI and a walk in Sunday's 7-6 win over Miami.

Blackmon enjoyed a nice weekend against the Marlins, going 4-for-7 with five runs scored and two homers in his last two games. The 33-year-old lefty owns a terrific .327/.373/.604 slash line with 26 long balls and 93 runs scored.

The Phillies relayed that Harper's removal from Sunday's game against the Padres was the result of dehydration, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Harper went 1-for-1 with a single, a walk and a run scored before he was replaced by Adam Haseley in the top of the sixth inning. After an off day Monday, Harper should be ready to go when the Phillies resume play Tuesday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Harper exited Sunday's game against the Padres in the sixth inning with an undisclosed injury, Bob Brookover of The Philadephia Inquirer reports.

Per Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the trainer was talking to manager Gabe Kapler in the dugout, so it seems injury-related. Adam Haseley replaced Harper in right field.

Dickerson is not in Sunday's lineup against the Diamondbacks.

He sits despite the fact the Giants are facing a righty (Merrill Kelly). Austin Slater will start in right field while Mike Yastrzemski shifts to left. Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, manager Bruce Bochy categorized Dickerson's absence from the lineup as a planned off day, likely due in part to the fact that the 29-year-old recently shook off an oblique injury.

Carpenter, who went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in a loss to the Reds on Saturday, had last left the yard June 17, a span of two full months.

The atypical dry spell is just another one of the many unpleasant facets of Carpenter's mostly nightmarish season at the plate, one that currently sees him carrying a .216/.325/.371 line. All three components qualify as career lows when factoring out his initial seven-game major-league cup of coffee in 2011. Nevertheless, Carpenter continues to hold on to an everyday role for now, and he's reached safely in four of the last five contests.

Pederson is not in the lineup Sunday against the Braves, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

He sits with southpaw Max Fried on the hill for Atlanta. Kyle Garlick will get the start in his place, hitting seventh.

Winker (back) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Both Winker and Joey Votto are dealing with back issues and will miss their fourth consecutive contests. Based on manager David Bell's recent comments, Winker's upper-back tightness may not have surfaced until Saturday, making it all the more surprising that the outfielder sat out the previous two games when the Reds were opposing right-handed starting pitchers. In any event, Winker's absence for the series finale will clear room in the outfield for Phillip Ervin. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that Winker will be available off the bench.