MLB Player News

Harper (rest) is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Padres, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

It appears manager Dusty Baker is simply giving Harper a regular day off, as his last one was all the way back on June 30. Harper was 0-for-7 at the plate during the first two games of this series, so that, mixed with the fact that the Nationals are facing lefty Christian Friedrich on Sunday, all added up to be perfect timing for a maintenance day. In his stead, Chris Heisey will get the call in right field.

Stanton went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI in a victory over the Mets on Saturday.

The big right-hander had just one hit in his previous 13 at-bats, so it was nice to see him break out again. This was his first home run since winning the Home Run Derby. Stanton is hitting .241 with 21 homers, 55 RBI and 44 runs in 311 at-bats.

Carpenter (oblique) has been cleared for limited baseball activities, Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter was taking grounders and throwing to first on Friday before the Cardinals game against the Dodgers. It's unclear when Carpenter will be cleared to start a rehab assignment, but this is a step in the right direction. Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia have been filling in at third base during Carpenter's absence.

Soler (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment on Saturday for Double-A Tennessee, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Soler, who has a history of hamstring injuries, has been sidelined by the Cubs since June 7. The Cubs will play it safe with the 24-year-old to make sure his hamstring is 100 percent before activating him to the roster. With teammate Chris Coghlan also on a rehab assignment, the Cubs outfield could become crowded very quickly.

McCutchen reached base three times Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a walk.

Typically this doesn't represent much news for a career .293 hitter, but Cutch has put up 0-for-5 and 0-for-8 efforts in two of his last three games. The free pass was just McCutchen's second in 10 games and his 8.7 percent walk rate is well below his career average of 11.8 percent. He compiled a 14.3 percent rate just one season ago.

Turner (2-for-3) connected for two home runs off Nationals' ace Stephen Strasburg en route to a five RBI performance Thursday afternoon.

Just an hour into the afternoon, the Dodgers' hottest hitter already had his fourth career multi-homer game and his first game with five RBI since May 15, 2011. Over the previous two seasons, Turner was one of the Dodgers' best hitters and an anchor in the middle of their lineup. But the third baseman stumbled to start the 2016 season, and on June 8, he was hitting only .220. Since then, he has lifted his average 47 points by hitting .333 with 13 home runs.

Stanton is not in the lineup Thursday against Philadelphia, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Stanton will get his first game off since the All-Star break as Ichiro Suzuki takes his place in right and bats leadoff. Stanton is 0-for-9 in his last two games but has collected two multi-hit games and three doubles since the start of the second half.

Harper had a three-true-outcomes game Wednesday against the Dodgers, going 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, a walk, two runs and two strikeouts.

He left nothing up to the fielders -- it was just between Harper and the opposing pitchers. Harper hasn't had a multi-hit game in two weeks (although the All-Star break did take up some of that time), and that's actually been a season-long lack that's led to his not-good .249 average. His BABIP's lingering at .245 accordingly, and that just doesn't fit with Harper's career tendencies; it wouldn't be surprising to see him go on a heater and lift the ol' average to respectability by the time this season comes to a close.

The Cubs and Mariners are nearing a deal that would send Vogelbach to Seattle in exchange for Mike Montgomery, Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reports.

Vogelbach is the top DH prospect in the minors, so a trade to an AL club has been a long time coming. He has 16 homers and a .318/.425/.548 slash line in 365 plate appearances at Triple-A Iowa as a 23-year-old this season, and is essentially big league ready. The trade is not final, but owners who have a need at UTIL or first base should consider scooping up Vogelbach now, as he figures to spend the bulk of the rest of the season in the majors if this trade goes through.

Soler (hamstring) had the start of his rehab assignment pushed back a day as the Iowa Cubs were rained out on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

The 24-year-old is set to officially start his rehab assignment after missing more than six weeks with a hamstring strain, beginning Wednesday as part of Triple-A Iowa's doubleheader. He seems to have a chance to return before the end of the week barring any additional weather complications or setbacks with the injury. Soler struggled to a .223/.322/.377 line in 50 games before landing on the DL, and it's not entirely clear where he'll fit in upon his return. He figures to play primarily against left-handed pitching.