MLB Player News

Turner went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Friday's victory over the Padres.

The Dodgers' third baseman had gone through a bit of a hitting slump -- by his standards -- in August (.245 in 26 games), bringing his batting average "down" to .332 on the year. Friday's three-hit performance extended a modest five-game hitting streak, giving Turner a shot to make a late push for the National League batting title. He currently trails Charlie Blackmon by eight points with 29 games remaining in the regular season.

Pederson is expected to rejoin the Dodgers sometime after the minor-league season ends, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Pederson has struggled since his demotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, slashing just .167/.250/.194 in 36 at-bats, so rather than recall him once rosters expand Friday, the Dodgers will opt to keep him in the minors a little while longer to work things out. He'll likely rejoin the big club sometime next week, though his role once he returns is up in the air given the recent acquisition of Curtis Granderson and impending promotion of top prospect Alex Verdugo.

Reds manager Bryan Price said Wednesday that Winker (hip) is "still a ways" from resuming baseball activities, Andy Call of MLB.com reports.

Price's comments all but ensure that Winker won't be activated from the 10-day disabled list when rosters expand Friday, and if his recovery from the hip flexor continues to proceed slowly, the young outfielder may not be cleared to play again this season. Though the 24-year-old has only had 87 plate appearances with the big club this season, he's impressed in limited action with a .297/.402/.500 line. Winker should have the opportunity to compete for a full-time role with the Reds in 2018 during spring training.

Blackmon went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Tigers.

His sixth-inning blast was the only run allowed by Justin Verlander. Blackmon now has 32 homers on the year, establishing a new career high to go along with personal bests in RBI (84), runs (120), triples (14) and walks (51) -- and it's not even the end of August yet.

Harper (knee) is still "a long ways from running" according to manager Dusty Baker, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Although the outfielder has been able to resume his exercises in recent days, he revealed that he's dealing with a calf strain that occurred on the same play that he suffered the hyperextended left knee, which suggests there's still a lengthy journey ahead. Harper hasn't been able to do any drills on the field at this point, and with no clear return date set, Baker will give Jayson Werth some time in right field while Harper remains out.

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Nationals.

He was already one of only six players in history to hit 50 or more home runs before September, joining Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris and Luis Gonzalez in a very exclusive club, but Stanton's first-inning solo shot was also his 18th of the month -- tying Rudy York's 80-year-old MLB record for August, with two games left on the calendar. It's also worth noting that of the five other players in the "50 before September" club, only Gonzalez failed to finish the season with at least 60 homers.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and two runs scored against the Brewers on Tuesday.

Though the long ball is nice, Carpenter hasn't put together a multi-hit game since Aug. 8 -- a span of three weeks. It's nice to see his power showing up over the past couple games, as he also homered Sunday, but he's hit just .194/.324/.355 over his last 16 outings, contributing to this season's career-worst .244 average. That said, Carpenter's also sitting on a career-worst .277 BABIP, and his plate discipline and pop are still pluses. At only 31 years old, he should still be good for several more productive seasons.

Belt (concussion) may not return this season, Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy remains hopeful that Belt will return this season, but acknowledged Tuesday that he may not return until 2018. This should come as no surprise, given Belt's history with concussions. Ryder Jones should continue to serve as the everyday first baseman for the foreseeable future.

Harper (knee) is no longer walking with a limp and has resumed exercising, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports.

It sounds like Harper is starting to make some progress from the significant bone bruise in his left knee that he sustained Aug. 12, but since he's yet to do any on-field work, a return from the 10-day disabled list doesn't seem to be imminent. Even so, the Nationals remain optimistic that the outfielder will be back on the field before the end of the regular season and enter the postseason at full strength. Because of his uncertain return timeline, Harper makes for a difficult hold in shallower formats, but those in deeper leagues should continue to stash him on the bench in the event he's able to get in a week or two worth of games before the season draws to a close.

Ozuna went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Monday's loss to the Nationals.

While Max Scherzer was able to keep Giancarlo Stanton in check Monday night, he had no such luck with Ozuna. The 26-year-old is now slashing an electric .333/.430/.600 through 25 games in August with seven homers and 22 RBI.