MLB Player News

Blackmon isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers, Jake Shapiro of BSNDenver.com reports.

Blackmon had a great game Friday, as he went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. However, he'll sit out of Saturday's outing while Gerardo Parra starts in center field. Blackmon will likely return Sunday versus the Dodgers.

Jimenez (shoulder) was assigned to High-A Myrtle Beach and is starting at DH and hitting cleanup Saturday.

The Cubs' top prospect missed the first 35 games of the season with a bone bruise in his right shoulder, but will make his Carolina League debut versus Lynchburg this weekend. Jimenez has huge long-term upside in the batting average and power categories, profiling as a prototypical middle-of-the-order corner outfielder.

Harper agreed to a one-year contract with the Nationals on Saturday worth $21.65 million, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

Harper has been a major catalyst for the Nationals throughout his tenure in the big leagues, so Washington decided to reward him for all his efforts with the biggest contract for an arbitration-eligible player in history. On top of that large sum of money, he'll also get an additional $1 million if he wins the MVP award in 2018. With this out of the way, Harper can focus on continuing to tear apart the league with the 1.213 OPS he's posted this season.

Cespedes (hamstring) has begun limited baseball activities, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

The Cuban slugger has been out since late April after re-injuring his hamstring running out a double, but it seems like he's making progress in his recovery from that incident. It's unclear when the Mets plan to get him back into game action, but the timing of that step should become clear in the next week or so as Cespedes progresses further.

Winker enters play Friday hitting .271/.360/.318 with no homers and no stolen bases. His sort of offensive stat line at Triple-A is incredibly unique, Zach Buchanan from the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

As Buchanan elaborates, Winker's lack of slugging prowess is not ideal given that he's not a plus defender in the outfield either. The presumption going into this season was that Winker would ultimately supplant Scott Schebler in the outfield, but he doesn't appear especially close to that promotion.

Belt went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Reds.

Thursday's long ball ended an 18-game homerless stretch. Belt has maintained an excellent .358 on-base percentage, but his .221 batting average isn't helping fantasy owners. His .293 BABIP is over 50 points lower than the marks he posted in 2015 and 2016 when he batted .280 and .275 respectively, so expect his average to rise as more of his contacted balls start falling in.

Pederson is playing center field and batting leadoff Wednesday against the Pirates, David Vassegh of 570 LA Sports reports.

With Andrew Toles (knee) out with a torn ACL, Pederson will jump to the top of the order for just the third time this season. Manager Dave Roberts said Pederson will serve as the primary leadoff hitter, at least against right-handed pitching, until Logan Forsythe (toe) is able to return from the disabled list, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports. Pederson is 3-for-7 while batting leadoff this season (two games).

Jimenez (shoulder) is still at extended spring training but took batting practice Wednesday, independent scout Chris Kusiolek reports.

Kusiolek posted video of Jimenez hitting on the backfields in Arizona, so while it is no doubt annoying dynasty league owners that one of the top prospects in the game has not played in an official game yet this season, he is still participating in baseball activities. It remains unclear when he will be assigned to an affiliate.

Belt is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Mets, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Belt is having a brutal month at the plate, going just 3-for-25 with 14 strikeouts over eight games, so he gets a chance to clear his head Wednesday. Buster Posey moves to first base while Nick Hundley takes over behind the plate.

Blackmon is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cubs, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Alexi Amarista will take over in center field as Gerardo Parra leads off against right-hander John Lackey in the nightcap. Blackmon tripled in Game 1, giving him 22 extra-base hits through 33 games this season, and he also stole a base for the first time since Opening Day.