MLB Player News

Mets manager Mickey Callaway suggested that it's unlikely Cespedes (hip) will return from the 10-day disabled list when first eligible Thursday, Anthony Rieber and David Lennon of Newsday reports. "I'm not sure at this point," Callaway said, regarding a timetable for Cespedes' return. "He's just getting treatment right now."

It doesn't sound like Cespedes has resumed baseball activity yet or is particularly close to doing so while he recovers from the hip flexor strain, so it's conceivable that the outfielder's absence could stretch into June. With Cespedes on the shelf and Juan Lagares (toe) expected to miss the rest of the season, the Mets are short on right-handed-hitting outfielders and have reportedly kicked the tires on Jose Bautista, who was cut loose by Atlanta over the weekend.

Reyes went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Monday's game against the Nationals.

According to Statcast, Reyes' first MLB homer traveled 398 feet and had a 108.1 mph exit velocity. It was a beneficial matchup for the hulking right-handed slugger, who got the start in right field and hit fifth against lefty Gio Gonzalez, against whom he hit the homer. Franchy Cordero is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and Wil Myers is still on the disabled list with an oblique injury, so Reyes should have a bit more leash to carve out a role in the Padres' outfield. However, he will need to get to his power more consistently while striking out a bit less (7:1 K:BB in 21 plate appearances) in order to stick once everyone is healthy.

Harper went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run and two RBI in Monday's win over the Padres.

Teenage phenom Juan Soto homered on the first pitch of his first big-league start and mimicked Harper's hair flip when he got back to the dugout, so the man himself had little choice but to respond with a blast of his own. Harper's .231 batting average and .196 BABIP on the season remain far below his usual standards, but there's still plenty of time for them to improve, and his 14 home runs put him in the National League lead.

Meneses was named the International League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks Monday.

Meneses earned the award by hitting .478 with four homers and a 1.712 OPS over seven games. He still has all the indicators of a Quad-A player, as he's a right-handed first baseman who's having success in the minors as a 26-year-old. The only way to escape that fate is to hit and keep hitting, and Meneses has done his best so far this year, hitting .355/.400/.636 with seven homers in 35 games. He's firmly blocked at first base at the major-league level by Carlos Santana, but he has played one game in right field this year so he has an outside shot to factor in the mix there for the Phillies with both Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr struggling.

Ozuna went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, a walk and two runs in a win over the Royals on Monday.

Ozuna received a day off Sunday and saw the surging Tyler O'Neill start in his stead in left field, but the slugger was back in his usual spot Monday while O'Neill shifted to right and sent Dexter Fowler to the bench. Ozuna responded by breaking out of the 0-for-20 slump that had encompassed his previous five games with his fifth multi-hit effort of May. The 27-year-old continues to struggle with his power numbers despite the fact his hard contact rate remains at a career-high 47.8 percent following Monday's contest.

Carpenter went 3-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and two runs in a win over the Royals on Monday.

Carpenter's second consecutive three-hit tally finally vaulted his average back up over the Mendoza Line for the first time since April 2. The veteran infielder's six-game heater consists of a .542 average, seven doubles, Monday's homer, four RBI, two walks and five runs, and Carpenter is also making hard contact at a whopping 68.2-percent clip during that stretch.

Belt went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and two runs in the Giants' 9-5 victory over the Rockies on Sunday.

Belt has been one of the league's hottest hitters of late as he's now left the yard five times in his last seven games to bring his home run total on the year to 11, already just seven shy of the number he posted in his injury-shortened 2017 campaign. His slash line now sits at a ridiculous .313/.413/.594 through 160 at-bats. While expecting him to maintain that 1.006 OPS over the course of the entire year might not be realistic, Belt certainly looks like he's primed for a career-best campaign at the plate at age 30. This explosive effort also means he can safely be considered over the knee issue that kept him out of the lineup on Friday.

Carpenter went 3-for-4 with a double and a run in the Cardinals' 5-1 victory over the Phillies on Sunday.

It's been a season of struggles at the plate for Carpenter so far, but he's showing signs of life lately, as this three-hit effort gave him 10 knocks in his last 24 at-bats with three multi-hit performances in his last five games over that time. The fact that his average still sits at .194 coming off the mini-hot streak is a testament to how much he's been struggling in the early going, so hopefully this is a sign he can finally start to get his paltry .672 OPS back up toward his career mark of .829.

McCutchen (knee) is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rockies, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

McCutchen suffered a bruised knee on a slide Saturday, and it only makes sense that the Giants would hold him out through Monday's off day. If the knee is still barking come Tuesday, the Giants could opt to DH McCutchen for the two-game set in Houston.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Cody Bellinger will man center field while Max Muncy starts at first base against right-hander Stephen Strasburg. We know Pederson is going to sit against lefties, and his playing time against right-handers may be more sporadic moving forward. Pederson is batting just .188/.291/.292 so far in May.