MLB Player News

Turner reached base in both of his plate appearances Saturday, collecting a hit, a walk, an RBI and a run scored in a spring training win over the White Sox.

Fresh off a big contract extension, Turner is looking to repeat the career marks he set at the plate last season. The 27 homers seems like an outlier when you consider his previous totals and his age, but the third baseman looks like a safe source of batting average, runs and RBI while batting in the the heart of the Dodgers' lineup this season.

Carpenter had a first-inning sacrifice fly and blasted a two-run homer in Saturday's 8-7 Grapefruit League loss the Marlins.

Hitting out of the three-hole with the newly-acquired Dexter Fowler now batting leadoff, Carpenter blasted a two-run homer in the third that scored his new teammate. He'd also driven Fowler home in the first with a sacrifice fly, giving the new Cardinals starting first baseman an auspicious start to the exhibition slate.

Harper launched a tape-measure home run on the first pitch he saw as part of a 2-for-2 day in Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Mets.

The no-doubt shot, which nearly cleared the second fence at the back of the hill overlooking Tradition Field in right-center, announced as clearly as anything could that Harper is 100 percent healthy to begin the spring. Last year's struggles have knocked his ADP down a peg in early drafts, but don't be surprised if it starts creeping back up if he continues to light up opposition pitchers through March.

Belt started and went 1-for-2 in his Cactus League debut Friday.

The extremely patient Belt is looking to repeat last year's career-best .394 on-base percentage and .868 OPS. While his power never developed to the 25-homer level many pegged him for as a prospect, he has turned into a consistent option at first base and should finish with solid counting stats batting in the heart of the Giants' order. Leagues that use on-base percentage should value Belt higher than standard formats, but he will still hold value in other formats given how shallow the first base position is this year.

Pederson was named as one of several options manager Dave Roberts is considering batting leadoff, according to SB Nation.

Logan Forsythe makes the most sense and has to be the early favorite to lead off most nights, but Pederson isn't a terrible option despite his power. His .246 batting average in 2016 doesn't scream "leadoff hitter," but he did get on base at a .352 clip, which is top-of-the-order material. That being said, it would be surprising if Roberts moved Pederson's .847 OPS out of the heart of the lineup.

Manager Andy Green says Dickerson (back) will not see game action this week, Bill Center of MLB.com reports.

Green cautioned that the injury is a "little bit of a slow process," so there's still no definitive timetable for his return. However, the Padres likely won't rush the young slugger back into activities until he feels completely healthy. Dickerson emerged as a power threat for San Diego last season, finishing the year with a .455 slugging percentage and a .788 OPS.

Ozuna (shoulder) is expected to play Sunday against the Cardinals, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins still have plenty of time to scratch Ozuna if his shoulder acts up over the next 24 hours, but it looks like the issue won't significantly delay the start of his Grapefruit League campaign.

Ozuna will not start in Saturday's Grapefruit League game due to mild shoulder discomfort, and manager Don Mattingly said he'll slowly work Ozuna into the lineup when he's ready, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Ozuna may be available sometime next week if he can heal quickly. The 26-year-old should deliver another 20-homer season in 2017 if he stays healthy, and perhaps a productive showing in RBI, but everything else about his game is up in the air, despite his youth and upside.

Dickerson (back) feels "substantial improvement" Thursday but remains on the sidelines, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The nagging back stiffness will probably keep him out at least a few more days, though San Diego won't want to rush him back if it's more serious than initially thought. He'll probably undergo some tests to determine a more concrete timetable, so fantasy players can have a clearer picture on the sneaky power prospect in the coming weeks.

Dickerson (back) was held out of workouts for a third straight day Wednesday and will be examined by team doctors, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

What was initially thought to be a fairly minor ailment seems to be sticking around longer than expected, so the young outfielder will head to the trainer's table to see if there's a larger problem presenting itself. Back injuries are always a rough time given how much every baseball activity utilizes the back, but the severity of this particular issue is currently unclear. Once the results of the examination are revealed, a timetable for Dickerson's return to spring training should become clearer.