MLB Player News

Pederson is not starting Saturday against the Brewers.

Pederson sits against a righty for the first time this season, with Zach Davies on the mound for the Brewers. Chris Taylor gets the start in left field.

Belt was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Rockies due to neck stiffness, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports.

Pablo Sandoval will take over for Belt at first base. It's unclear how much time Belt is expected to miss.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, a walk and a second run scored Friday against the Marlins.

McCutchen tacked on some insurance runs in the eighth inning with a blast to dead center, his third homer of the 2019 campaign. The 32-year-old outfielder is slashing .262/.426/.524 with five extra-base hits and eight RBI through 12 matchups this season.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Ozuna's absence for the series finale is essentially a rest day, even though he continues to play at less than 100 percent health as he works back from offseason shoulder surgery. The shoulder has proven more bothersome for Ozuna while throwing from the outfield, with the 28-year-old struggling to relay balls to the infield with his usual accuracy and velocity. Fortunately for fantasy managers, Ozuna's struggles haven't extended to the offensive end, as he enters Thursday's game with a .262 average to go with three home runs and two steals in 11 contests after a 3-for-4, two-RBI night against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.

The Cardinals will extend Carpenter his first breather of the season one day after inking him to a two-year contract extension. He'll be one of three regulars resting in the series finale, with Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina joining him on the bench.

Winker went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run Wednesday against the Marlins.

Winker delivered the game-winning run with his second homer of the season in the eighth inning. He's gotten starts in each of the two games that Yasiel Puig has been suspended and gone yard in both after starting the season in a prolonged slump. Despite the promising recent performance, Winker may end up back in an outfield rotation, splitting time with Matt Kemp and Scott Schebler now that Puig is eligible to return to the lineup.

Carpenter agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Cardinals on Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The deal includes a third-year vesting option.

Carpenter was in the final guaranteed year of his contract but will now remain with the Cardinals through the 2021 campaign. The 33-year-old is coming off an impressive 2018 season that saw him slash .257/.374/.523 with 36 homers and 81 RBI in 156 games.

Belt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt will head to the bench for what appears to be a routine breather after starting the past 10 games, going 9-for-35 (.257) with a trio of homers and eight RBI in those appearances. Buster Posey will cover first base in place of Belt, opening up a spot in the lineup for Erik Kratz to start behind the dish.

Reyes is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Giants.

Reyes has a hit in each of the last two games, but that's only been enough to bring his batting average up to .148, and he has just a single homer. Hunter Renfroe, who starts in right field Wednesday, has hit .333 with four home runs.

Ozuna describes his current arm strength at "55 percent" following offseason right shoulder surgery but continues a therapeutic regimen designed to progressively increase it, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Ozuna is undergoing therapy, pregame exercises and work on his throwing mechanics daily with coach Willie McGee in an effort to get back to full capacity as soon as possible. Ozuna has tabbed accuracy as one of the areas he's still most lacking in, acknowledging that he's occasionally missing his target and "throwing wild." Despite his struggles at times this season, Langosch notes that a throw Ozuna made in Pittsburgh last week clocked in at 84.4 mph per Statcast, harder than any he'd made last year but still below some of the 90-plus mph lasers the veteran uncorked in Miami back in 2016. The good news for fantasy owners is that the results have been increasingly better on the offensive side of things -- Ozuna slugged the hardest-hit home run thus far this season in the first inning Monday, and both of his round trippers have come within the last four games.