MLB Player News

Cespedes exited Thursday's game against the Phillies with an undisclosed injury, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

According to Carig, Cespedes appeared to tweak something in his leg running the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cespedes immediately went back to the tunnel after limping off the field. Juan Lagares has come on to replace Cespedes, taking over in center with Michael Conforto moving to left field. More information on Cespedes' status should be made available later Thursday, but this is nonetheless a serious concern for the Mets.

Harper went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double, two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI in Wednesday's 14-4 rout of the Braves.

Both blasts came off Julio Teheran, including a no-doubt grand slam in the second inning. Harper now has a .455/.538/1.182 slash line with seven home runs in 33 career at-bats against the Atlanta ace, but his overall numbers so far this season aren't too shabby either: .404/.516/.846 with six homers, 18 RBI and 16 runs scored in 14 games.

Stanton went a perfect 3-for-3 with a solo homer and two walks in a 10-5 loss against the Mariners on Wednesday.

It's amazing that the Marlins got blown out in a game that saw Stanton and Christian Yelich combine to get on base eight times, including two home runs. Stanton came in hitting just .226 with a .715 OPS, but that's the beauty of April -- this big game raised his average to .268 and his OPS to .854.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rockies.

Pederson will get a breather with southpaw Tyler Anderson toeing the rubber for the Rockies. Recently recalled Brett Eibner will get the start in center field.

Turner (hand) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rockies.

Turner will get the day off as Enrique Hernandez takes over at third base. He got hit in the hand during Tuesday's game but was able to stay in, so the Dodgers appear to be playing it safe with him. Consider him day-to-day for now, but more should be known on his status before Friday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Jimenez (shoulder) has been used as a designated hitter at extended spring training, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports.

Jimenez is working his way back from a bone bruise in his right shoulder that hampered him all of spring training and has cost him the beginning of the minor-league season. However, the fact that he's ramping up his activity and is getting in-game at-bats is a welcome sign to both the Cubs and the 20-year-old prospect, although Jimenez's return date is still unknown. In Low-A last season, he hit .329 with 14 home runs and 84 RBI.

Turner was struck in the hand with a pitch in the fifth inning of Tuesday's loss to the Rockies, but he stayed in the game and finished 1-for-4 with an RBI.

The Dodgers had X-rays done on their third baseman's hand for precautionary reasons, and the results came back negative. It appears that Turner avoided any sort of damage to his right hand, and he should be fine going forward. The 32-year-old is currently slashing .360/.448/.520 while batting third in the order this season.

Carpenter (finger) will return to the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates, Jim Hayes of FOX Sports Midwest reports.

The laceration on Carpenter's finger, which he suffered while fielding a groundball during Sunday's game, has evidently healed to the point where it's no longer a major hindrance. Carpenter is off to a slow start this season with eight hits (only one for extra bases) in his first 36 at-bats. He will look to get it going against right-hander Gerrit Cole.

McCutchen, who will bat third Wednesday afternoon, has 12 hits in 25 career at-bats against Cardinals starter Michael Wacha.

McCutchen is playing with a chip on his shoulder right now. He made several strong plays while patrolling center field for the first time in 2017 on Tuesday. Given his career numbers against Wacha and a nine-game batting streak, McCutchen makes for an interesting choice Wednesday.

McCutchen will return to playing center field following Starlin Marte's 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, Bob Nightengale of the USA Today reports.

The move back to center field should be fairly natural for McCutchen, as he'd spent his entire career at the spot prior to the 2017 season. However, whether or not McCutchen continues playing center field once Marte is eligible to return remains to be seen. Although his line is just .250/.291/.423 for the season, McCutchen has recorded a hit in eight consecutive games and notched six RBI over that span.