MLB Player News

Manager Bruce Bochy said that Belt is dealing with knee soreness following Thursday's loss to the Rockies, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The knee issue must have surfaced after the game, as Belt seemed fine during the contest, going 2-for-5 with his 10th home run and fourth in as many games. Bochy said he was planning on giving his first baseman the day off Friday in order to rest the knee, but he said he will see how the slugger feels during batting practice. The club's willingness to let Belt feel things out indicates that the injury may not be too serious.

Turner went 3-for-4 with two doubles, five RBI and one run scored in Thursday's win over the Marlins.

It didn't take long for Turner to get things going at the plate, as the third baseman is now 6-for-13 (.462) with just one strikeout in three games since returning from the disabled list. Thursday's five-RBI effort was the first multi-RBI performance from a Dodger this month and is a solid reminder of what Turner is capable of doing when healthy. He'll look to stay hot at the plate as the Dodgers head to face the Nationals over the weekend.

Reyes is not in the lineup Thursday against the Pirates.

Reyes has started both games since his promotion, going 1-for-7 in those appearances, but he'll head to the bench for Thursday's series opener with right-hander Chad Kuhl toeing the rubber for the Pirates. Travis Jankowski is starting in right field and hitting leadoff in his stead.

Pederson is out of the lineup Thursday against the Marlins, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

With the left-handed Caleb Smith on the bump for the Marlins, Pederson will bow out of the lineup and clear the way for Enrique Hernandez to man center field. Pederson and Hernandez are likely to work in a platoon going forward in light of Pederson's career-long woes against lefties. Over his 283 plate appearances versus southpaws across parts of five big-league seasons, Pederson has slashed .178/.270/.308 (60 wRC+) with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate.

Carpenter went 3-for-5 with an RBI double and another two-bagger in a win over the Twins on Wednesday.

A move down the batting order seemed to work wonders for Carpenter, as he snapped out of a nightmarish 4-for-48 slump with his first multi-hit effort since May 1. Manager Mike Matheny afforded Carpenter multiple games off recently in an attempt to allow him to hit the reset button on a dreadful start to 2018, and for at least one afternoon, that appeared to pay some dividends. Despite the productive performance Wednesday, Carpenter's .160/.297/.303 line has abundant room for improvement, as does the .208 BABIP that has also played a large part in his struggles.

Belt went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Reds.

Belt has now gone yard in three straight games, and his nine home runs on the season already put him halfway toward matching last year's career-high 18. He's also slashing .301/.405/.562 -- all of which would be personal bests -- and looks poised to have his best season yet at age 30.

Carpenter will bat seventh in the Cardinals' lineup for Wednesday's game against Minnesota.

This marks the first time that Carpenter has been slotted into the batting order any lower that fourth since 2015. Over the past 16 games, he's gone just 4-for-48 with one home run, three RBI and 19 strikeouts.

Cespedes (hip) was put on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Monday.

Cespedes has been bothered by a strained right hip flexor since last Wednesday and was finally placed on the DL as it became clear that he needed some time to recover. With this stint being backdated to Monday, Cespedes will be eligible to return for the start of the Mets' series in Milwaukee on May 24. In a corresponding move, Phillip Evans was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to provide some extra depth in the outfield.

Belt went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's win over the Reds.

Belt knocked a ball into the water off starter Tyler Mahle, helping to spark a four-run fourth inning. The first baseman has recorded eight hits in his last four games, bringing his slash line to .298/.405/.546 with 18 extra-base hits. Belt's .405 on-base percentage ranks fourth in the majors among first basemen.

Reyes recorded his first hit in the majors Tuesday, going 1-for-3 in a win over the Rockies.

Reyes' stat line didn't move the needle for fantasy owners, but it was a meaningful day for the rookie. The slugging outfielder played his way onto the major-league roster, and has started both games since his callup; one in place of Travis Jankowski and one in place of Manuel Margot. It is still unclear how the playing time in the Padres' outfield will be distributed, especially once everyone is healthy, but the club is clearly making an effort to get the promising 22-year-old's bat in the lineup early on.