MLB Player News

McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, a walk and a second run scored in Thursday's victory over the Braves.

McCutchen couldn't have started his Phillies career any better, launching a leadoff homer off Julio Teheran in the home side's first at-bat of the season. He later walked to lead off the seventh inning and was eventually driven in by Rhys Hoskins' grand slam. Locked into the leadoff spot with quality hitters behind him in a hitter-friendly park, McCutchen could be in line for a late-career renaissance and is a good bet to score plenty of runs.

Carpenter (back) went 0-for-4 in a season-opening loss to the Brewers on Thursday.

Carpenter was true to his word about being ready to roll for Opening Day after a back injury limited him to 23 at-bats in Grapefruit League play. The veteran was back in his customary leadoff spot, one in which he slashed .264/.380/.539 with 60 extra-base hits (30 doubles, 30 home runs) and 60 RBI last season over 436 at-bats. Carpenter will look to avoid the type of slump that sunk his first full month of the season in 2018 (.145 average in April), which should be a bit easier to accomplish with Paul Goldschmidt now hitting behind him in the No. 2 hole.

Belt batted second and went 0-for-4 in Thursday's 2-0 loss to San Diego.

Belt's Opening Day stat line was forgettable, but his placement second in the order against a southpaw was notable. The 30-year-old figures to bat in the heart of the order against righties, but the club lacks proven right-handed threats against lefties, opening the door for Belt to move up the order instead of down against same-handed pitchers. The move -- combined with Belt's excellent on-base skills -- should boost his run production when he is not being asked to drive in runs against right-handed starters.

Pederson went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and a double to help the Dodgers to a 12-5 romp over the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

On an explosive Opening Day for the Dodgers, Pederson starred hitting atop the lineup, cranking two of his team's eight home runs on the afternoon. He'll make a strong case to keep garnering at-bats in the leadoff role if he can parlay the Opening Day fireworks into a sustained hot streak, but his .170 batting average over 53 at-bats against left-handed pitching last year likely means Pederson will frequently find himself sitting against southpaws.

Reyes not only is in the Padres' Opening Day starter in right field, but he's batting cleanup against Madison Bumgarner.

The surprise here is that Reyes got the start ahead of Hunter Renfroe, who was the incumbent starter. But if this holds, this is a pretty sweet spot for Reyes.

Pederson is leading off and starting in left field Thursday against the Diamondbacks, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

This is a best-case scenario for Pederson. We know he will sit against most lefties, but if he leads off against righties, he will be relevant in many formats. A.J. Pollock is hitting fifth against Zack Greinke.

Cespedes (heel) was officially placed on the 10-day IL, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

This move was a long time coming. It is not even a lock that Cespedes returns this season, although he said back in February that he expected to be back.

Carpenter (back) participated in the team's full workout at Miller Park in Milwaukee on Wednesday and declared himself "one hunded percent" for Thursday's opener, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter spent the early part of the week piling up at-bats at minor-league camp in order to get his timing as sharp as possible prior to Thursday's opener. Carpenter logged only 23 Grapefruit League at-bats due to his back issues, but he's fully expected to start at third base in the opening installment of the four-game set against the Brewers.

Winker will lead off Opening Day against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Winker certainly doesn't have the speed of a traditional leadoff man, but he has the on-base skills that fit the modern requirements for the spot (career on-base percentage of .397 through 136 games). He'll be followed by a trio of quality bats in Joey Votto, Yasiel Puig and Eugenio Suarez, so he could be in line for plenty of runs in the Reds' hitter-friendly home park.

Turner has posted excellent numbers this spring, hitting .465/.574/.814 in 18 games.

It's great to see Turner swinging the bat well so far, but the question with him for the past several years has been health, not performance. This time last season, he had just recently broken his wrist, an injury which kept him out until mid-May. It's unwise to read too much into spring stats, but Turner certainly looks healthy right now and should produce numbers in line with his recent seasons for as long as he can stay on the field.