MLB Player News

Ozuna went 2-for-5 and scored a run Thursday against the Rays.

The center fielder pushed his average to a season-high .333. After a slow first month, Ozuna is hitting .426 with a ridiculous 1.189 OPS in May. His .249 ISO is more than 100 points higher than his career average, and he's benefited from a fortunate .394 BABIP. Enjoy the hot streak while you can, because eventually Ozuna's poor contact rate and high strike out tendency will likely catch up to him.

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak announced Thursday that Carpenter (paternity) is expected to return to the lineup Saturday, Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest reports.

Carpenter left the team Wednesday to be with his wife for the birth of their child and he was subsequently placed on the paternity list Thursday. Per MLB rules, Carpenter can miss up to three games while on the paternity list, so he will miss Thursday and Friday's tilts, but he should return for Saturday's game against the Nationals.

Vogelbach, 23, is batting .308/.421/.503 with seven home runs and 32 RBI through 42 games for Triple-A Iowa.

Vogelbach is having a nice start to the season, but he is blocked by Anthony Rizzo at the big league level. As a result, he could be trade bait. Until an injury or trade occurs, he will be forced to stay in the minors.

Carpenter was placed on the paternity list Thursday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Carpenter will take a brief leave of absence from the team following the birth of his child. Per MLB rules, he'll have to miss at least one game, but no more than three games. As such, Carpenter could be back as early as Friday or as late as Sunday, when the Cards wrap up a four-game set in Washington. In a corresponding move, St. Louis recalled infielder Greg Garcia from Triple-A.

Stanton (side) is not in Thursday's lineup against the Rays, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Stanton was held out of Wednesday's game with what manager Don Mattingly called "a little soreness" on his right side, and the issue is apparently still persisting. The outfielder should continue to be considered day-to-day, and the Marlins will go with Cole Gillespie in right field Thursday.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a run and two strikeouts against Arizona on Wednesday.

The 2013 NL MVP has hit safely in six of his last seven games, and has gone 10-of-30 over that span. The talented center fielder has yet to gone in one of his patented streaks, but he seems to be heating up on May to the tune of a .294 average.

Belt suffered a mild ankle sprain in Wednesday's matchup with the Padres, CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlocvic reports.

Belt injured his ankle sliding into second base, but appears to have dodged a bullet. While it looked potentially serious, the sprain is fortunately mild. He was 0-for-3 at the time of his exit. The Giants have Thursday off, so Belt will have some extra time to heal up, but his status for Friday is certainly up in the air.

Belt left Wednesday's game after rolling his ankle while sliding into second base, CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reports.

The injury looked pretty bad, as Belt's foot got caught under the rest of his leg, but he was able to walk off the diamond without a limp. He was replaced by Conor Gillaspie at first base, and Matt Duffy and Buster Posey also offer options on the active roster in case the Giants have to make do without Belt for some time. More information as to the severity of the injury should be available after the conclusion of Wednesday's game.

Manager Don Mattingly said Wednesday that Stanton "has a little soreness" on his right side, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Mattingly's announcement gives a bit more context as to why Stanton was left out of the lineup for Wednesday's meeting with the Rays. The slugger hasn't looked like himself at the plate this month, slashing a mere .173/.287/.373 with four home runs and seven RBI compared to the eight home runs and 19 RBI he racked up in April. According to Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel, Mattingly believes Stanton's rib soreness is minor and the hope is that he won't be sidelined long. Still, Stanton's status heading into Thursday's series finale is uncertain.

Stanton is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Stanton hasn't gotten a day off since April 29, and considering the slumping slugger's .140/.246/.280 slash line over the past two weeks, the Marlins decided it was a good time to get him some rest. Ichiro Suzuki will take over in right field in his stead Wednesday.