MLB Player News

McCutchen is out of the lineup for Thursday's tilt with Atlanta.

As expected, McCutchen is out of the lineup for the final game of the series with Atlanta Thursday. The Pirates wanted to give him several games off to unplug with hopes that it jumpstarts McCutchen heading into the playoff push. Matt Joyce gets the start in his place with Starling Marte sliding over to center field.

Carpenter (oblique) will be activated prior to Friday's game against the Braves, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold reports.

He made his fourth and final rehab start Wednesday for Double-A Springfield and will use Thursday as a rest/travel day before joining the Cardinals for the weekend series at home against the Braves. Carpenter will return to the leadoff spot immediately, but he will move around in the field, primarily seeing time at third base and second base. Owners should be prepared to deploy him immediately upon is activation Friday.

Manager Terry Collins stated after Wednesday's game that Cespedes (quad) will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, James Wagner of the New York Time reports.

After sitting out of the starting lineup the previous three days (he pinch hit Tuesday), Cespedes returned to the starting lineup, going 1-fo-5 on the night. The quad must still be giving him troubles, enough so that he will skip 15 more days at a minimum. Had he not played either of the past two days, the team would be able to backdate the injury, but the soonest he can return now comes Aug. 19 against the Giants. Michael Conforto could see increased playing time in Cespedes' absence, but the team recalled Brandon Nimmo to replace Cespedes on the 25-man roster and should be in the mix as well.

Cespedes aggravated his quad inning in his final at-bat Wednesday and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Cespedes has been trying to play through the injury for several weeks but finally will be shut down due to it. Brandon Nimmo, who was just sent down Tuesday, is being called back up to replace Cespedes on the 25-man roster.

The Pirates are expected to keep McCutchen on the bench for both Wednesday and Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Including Monday's off day, that would give the center fielder four full days of rest prior to Friday's home game against Cincinnati. Pittsburgh has to hope the time away gives McCutchen enough of a break to reset both on the field and off -- he was critical of the team's recent deadline deals.

As expected, Cespedes is hitting third as the designated hitter for the Mets on Wednesday.

Manager Terry Collins indicated on Tuesday that Cespedes would be the Mets' DH as they face the Yankees and Tigers on the road the next five games. This will give more time for Cespedes to rest his quad in the coming days.

McCutchen is out of Wednesday's lineup against the Braves, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

McCutchen, who's gone just 4-for-21 (.190) over the last seven days, will sit out his second consecutive game. The Pirates will go with an outfield lineup of Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte, and Matt Joyce as they take on Rob Whalen and the Braves.

Harper (illness) is back in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic reports.

Harper was scratched from the lineup Tuesday due to illness, but he'll be back at his usual spot in right field Wednesday. The reigning NL MVP hasn't homered since July 20, and his season average has sunk to .235 after he ended last season with a .330 mark.

Belt went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 13-8 loss to Philadelphia.

Belt's fifth-inning blast tied the game at six, but it wasn't enough as the Phillies surprisingly continued to pour it on offensively. While this was just his second homer since June 19, the first baseman has shown increased signs of life since being moved down from third to sixth in the batting order on July 26. He's still slugging a career-high .489 despite the recent power outage.

Cespedes, who is to serve as the designated hitter the next five days for the Mets, felt some pain in his quad running to first on a pinch-hit single Tuesday but is expected to play Wednesday, Matt Ehalt of the Record reports.

Cespedes said the pain went away when he was in the dugout after the at-bat Tuesday. He added that the "Problem is once I take a couple days off I feel better. Once I go full speed is when the pain starts." Cespedes is still expected to be the DH on Wednesday, but that could change if the pain lingers.