MLB Player News

Carpenter is one of the players manager Mike Matheny is considering for occasional starts at third base in the wake of Jhonny Peralta (upper respiratory illness) heading to the disabled list, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "We're not ruling that out as an option," said Matheny.

The former third baseman has been taking grounders at third in the last few days in anticipation, although he continues to draw starts at first base. Occasional deployment of Carpenter at the hot corner would presumably shift Jedd Gyorko to first or give fellow left-handed bat Matt Adams a chance for extra playing time.

Cespedes (hamstring) is not in the lineup Saturday against the Nationals.

This doesn't come as a major surprise. Manager Terry Collins has said that Cespedes would likely be taking a few days off as a precaution, so he may not return until after the Mets' off day Monday. Juan Lagares and Michael Conforto will continue receiving the bulk of outfield playing time in his absence.

Jimenez (shoulder) has progressed to playing outfield during extended spring training games, Phil Rogers of MLB.com reports.

It's great news from a recovery standpoint for Jimenez, who until this point had been limited to a designated hitter role. The 20-year-old has been slowly working his way back from a bone bruise in his right shoulder that he suffered during spring training, but it appears activity is ramping up for the youngster. Jimenez will likely report to High-A Myrtle Beach after slashing .329/.369/.532 with Low-A South Bend last year.

Stanton went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Padres.

Don't look now, but the big man has homered in consecutive games and three times in his last six starts, giving him five bombs on the season to go along with a very Stanton-esque .267/.348/.533 slash line. As long as he can stay healthy, expect to see his name among the league's home-run leaders in short order.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Padres.

His impressive April continues, as Ozuna is now slashing .333/.377/.635 through 16 games with six homers, eight runs scored and 20 RBI. His .385 BABIP is bound to fall, but the 26-year-old's run production should stay strong if he can maintain even some of the gains he's shown in his career-high .302 ISO thus far.

Harper went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Friday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Mets.

He kicked off the scoring with a two-run blast -- his seventh home run of the season -- off Matt Harvey in the first inning and then doubled and scored on Trea Turner's bases-loaded walk in the 11th to produce the winning run. Harper came into the game with the fourth highest career OPS in the month of April in baseball history -- behind only some guys named Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Barry Bonds -- and Friday's performance exemplified how the 24-year-old has earned his place alongside those legends.

Pederson will bat leadoff Friday against the Diamondbacks, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports.

Manager Dave Roberts has shaken up the batting order Friday against right-hander Taijuan Walker, seemingly in hopes of jump-starting the offense, as the Dodgers have scored a total of 10 runs in their last four games. Pederson isn't exactly hot at the dish right now, but at least he's continuing to take walks unlike Andrew Toles (two walks so far this season).

Turner (hand) is back in the lineup Friday against the Diamondbacks, batting third and playing third base, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports.

Turner sat out Wednesday's contest after being plunked in the hand Tuesday, but it seems like everything is back to normal for the third baseman. He'll assume his normal spot in the lineup with Enrique Hernandez returning to a reserve role.

Cespedes (hamstring) is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Nationals.

As expected, Cespedes will sit after suffering a hamstring injury during Thursday's game. Manager Terry Collins suggested Cespedes will probably need a few days out of the lineup, echoing what Cespedes said himself Thursday night. The skipper went on to say that Cespedes' injury is "beyond a cramp, but nothing serious," Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Brewers.

The 31-year-old has struggled a fair amount this season, with Thursday's blast being just the second extra-base hit he's logged through 14 games. Carpenter also struck out three times, marking the third game in the past week where he's fanned multiple times. However, he does seem to be turning a page, as he currently possesses a five-game hit streak and a .316 batting average over the past week.