MLB Player News
-
Justin Turner DH | CHC
Dodgers' Justin Turner: Makes early exit
Turner left Friday night's game against the Reds after fouling a ball off his left leg, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.
The exact location of Turner's injury is not yet known, though it looked like he hurt his left shin, per Castillo. David Freese replaced Turner at the hot corner.
-
Brandon Belt DH | TOR
Giants' Brandon Belt: Returns to starting nine
Belt (knee) is starting at first base and batting fourth Friday against the Diamondbacks, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.
Belt was held out of Wednesday's lineup due to discomfort in his knee, but he's ready to roll after a few days off. He's slashing .192/.364/.423 with a homer and four RBI over his last 10 games.
-
Yoenis Cespedes DH | NYM
Mets' Yoenis Cespedes: Starts light running
Cespedes (heels) began light running and took batting practice on the field Friday, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.
Cespedes has been throwing in the outfield and hitting in the batting cage for a few weeks, but this looks to be the start of his running program. The 33-year-old shouldn't be expected to return anytime soon, as general manager Brodie Van Wagenen answered "time will tell," when asked about Cespedes' prospects of playing in 2019.
-
Jesse Winker DH | NYM
Reds' Jesse Winker: Sits against southpaw
Winker will sit Friday against lefty Rich Hill and the Dodgers.
The Reds are in the middle of a stretch of facing lefties in four out of five games. Winker started Thursday against Jose Quintana, but he's gotten the call against less than half of the lefties the Reds have faced this season, so it's no surprise he sits on this occasion. Jose Peraza starts in left field Friday.
-
Marcell Ozuna DH | PIT
Cardinals' Marcell Ozuna: Launches homer in defeat
Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.
Ozuna joined Matt Carpenter in leaving the yard for the Cardinals during the eighth inning of a blowout defeat, with the round tripper serving as Ozuna's second of the three-game set against the Braves. The veteran slugger is enduring a rough May at the plate overall, as he's hitting just .183 (11-for-60) over 15 contests. However, there are plenty of signs that his troublesome shoulder is back to full health, with Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reporting that he headed into the series against Atlanta with a barrel percentage (17.9), average exit velocity (92.6 mph), hard-contact rate (51.4 percent) and xSLG figure (.594) that all ranked in the top seven percent of the majors.
-
Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Leaves yard in loss
Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.
Carpenter's eighth-inning, 398-foot shot was only the veteran's second home run since April 17 and snapped a 1-for-19 funk that had encompassed his previous four-plus games. Manager Mike Shildt recently gave Carpenter a vote of confidence with respect to his leadoff role, but the fact remains that, despite Thursday's round tripper, the 33-year-old infielder is currently hitting under .200 (.196) for the second consecutive month.
-
Franmil Reyes DH | WAS
Padres' Franmil Reyes: Homers again
Reyes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the Padres' 4-3 victory over the Padres on Thursday.
Reyes continues to flash impressive power as he checked in with his 13th long ball of the season in this contest with a third-inning solo shot off Trevor Williams. The 23-year-old has employed a more aggressive approach in 2019 and has taken just eight walks through 139 at-bats, which has contributed to an unimpressive .300 on-base percentage. However, it's also resulted in the increased power production, as he's also laced six doubles to go along with the 13 homers to give him a robust .590 slugging percentage.
-
Bryce Harper DH | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Flips lineup spots with Segura
Harper will start in right field and bat second Thursday against the Brewers.
Harper has made all of his previous 42 starts this season as the No. 3 hitter, but he'll swap spots in the order with Jean Segura in the series finale. Manager Gabe Kapler likely decided to make the change in an effort to spark Harper, who has struck out in a career-worst 30.8 percent of his plate appearances this season. If Harper finds some initial success while batting between Andrew McCutchen and Segura, the big free-agent pickup could remain in that lineup spot on a permanent basis.
-
Joc Pederson DH | TEX
Dodgers' Joc Pederson: Takes seat against southpaw
Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Pederson will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale with left-hander Matt Strahm starting for the opposition. In his place, Chris Taylor is starting in left field and hitting sixth.
-
Bryce Harper DH | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Won't miss any time
Harper is in the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers despite a sore knee.
Harper said following Tuesday's game that he had a sore left knee after making a pair of sliding catches. The injury evidently isn't serious enough for him to miss any starts, so he'll keep his streak of starting every single game for the Phillies this season.