MLB Player News

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.

Cespedes is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cubs.

He, along with veterans Neil Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, will get a rest for Wednesday's day game after the night game. Michael Conforto will get the start in left field with Juan Lagares starting in center field Wednesday.

Pederson was called up Tuesday, Andy McCullough of the LATimes reports.

Pederson was fantastic during his rehab assignment, collecting five hits and four walks over 12 plate appearances in three games for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 24-year-old outfielder, shelved since the end of June with a sprained AC joint, was slashing .286/.412/.536 with six walks over his last 10 games prior to landing on the DL. Pederson will start in center field and hit sixth for the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Pederson (shoulder) is expected to return to the Dodgers' lineup Tuesday, MLB.com reports

Pederson went 5-for-8 with three walks in his three-game assignment and should play center field more or less every day for the Dodgers going forward.

Soler (hamstring) will begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Soler has been out since June 7 after injuring his hamstring, but will now head to Triple-A Iowa to play a few tuneup games before getting back to the big leagues with the Cubs. The 24-year-old is hitting .223/.322/.377 with five home runs through 50 games.

Turner went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Sunday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Hitless heading into the eighth inning, Turner smacked a two-run homer and followed that with a two-run double in the ninth, nearly bringing the Dodgers back from a six-run deficit. He has seemingly discovered his power stroke of late, as he has homered four times in his last eight games and has nine RBI during that span as well.