MLB Player News

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Sunday the team has "no worry" about outfielder Bryce Harper, who won't be able to come off the disabled list after a minimum stay because of a knee injury. He will visit with Dr. James Andrews Monday, but Rizzo said that's standard protocol to receive a second opinion, according to MASNsports.com.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is a little behind in his rehab due to rainouts and likely won't return to the Miami roster until Tuesday or Wednesday, the Palm Beach Post reports Saturday. 

Stanton began his rehab assignment for a hamstring strain Tuesday and has gone 0 for 6 in his first two games with Class A Jupiter. He hit .227 with three homers and nine RBI before the injury.

Marlins manager Mike Redmond said Friday there is a possibility Giancarlo Stanton will be activated from the disabled list before Monday's game at home against the Brewers, according to The Palm Beach Post.

"He is moving around great in the outfield," Redmond said.

Stanton began his rehab assignment Tuesday and has gone 0 for 6 in his first two games with Class A Jupiter. He hit .227 with three homers and nine RBI before the injury.

With another two hits and a homer Thursday, the Cardinals' Matt Carpenter now ranks second among all second basemen in standard Head-to-Head leagues, ahead of consensus first-rounder Robinson Cano. He's batting .446 with a 1.160 OPS during a 15-game hitting streak and .335 with a .908 OPS overall.

If you're the beneficiary in your league, I know what you're thinking: He can't be this good, can he? You may put on a brave face and drop a few I-told-you-sos on the message board, but deep down, you're wondering if now is the time to deal him.

I'd stay the course. True, a .330 batting average is an unreasonable expectation for a player who's never done it before, and no, I don't expect Carpenter to finish the year ahead of Cano. But nothing he's doing is out of character for him. He's not coming off an unprecedented power surge. He doesn't have a disproportionate number of walks or an unrealistic number of stolen bases. He's just taking his pitches, making consistent contact and driving the ball into the gaps. It's what he does.

Whenever you catch a player at the tail end of a hot streak, you can expect his numbers to regress, but Carpenter's won't regress enough that you'll regret holding on to him.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is set to visit Dr. James Andrews Monday to get a second opinion on his knee, as the swelling and inflammation haven't improved.

As a result, Harper is unlikely to come off the disabled list June 11, when he is first eligible, according to Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

"He's probably not going to be available to come off when he's supposed to come off," manager Davey Johnson told the Washington Times Thursday. "We haven’t been real successful with our treatment here. He constantly gets treatment here, but we've got to get that inflammation out of there."

Harper has tried to run in a pool, and even that low-impact workout caused the swelling to worsen, prompting the decision for a second opinion.

The initial diagnosis is that Harper has no structural damage in his knee, just a swollen bursa sac. The team continues to maintain that a surgical repair would be a "last resort," and Harper has said that he will not consider a cortisone shot in the knee.

"I don't want to put any of that stuff in my knee, in my body," Harper said. "I think that that would do some damage to my knee and I’m not going to do that at 20 years old."

With Lucas Duda sporting a tight quad and a left-handed pitcher on the mound, the Mets opted to give infielder Justin Turner his first start in the outfield Thursday against the Nationals. The Mets are not sure if Turner will continue to see playing time there moving forward, but he has been getting work in prior to games.

"We'll find out," manager Terry Collins told ESPN.com. "He catches them in batting practice. He runs them down. The speed is a little different when the game time starts, so we'll see. ... The ball is going to find you. And we've seen it everywhere. But this is not a big park, so it's not someplace where your range has got to be such and such or you've got to really worry about where you position yourself. 

The Mets' offense has been a concern recently, so if Turner, who is hitting .288 on the season in 80 at-bats, can show any kind of ability in the outfield the team might opt to let him play more often.

"Obviously I'd like to find my way in the lineup a little bit more than I have," Turner said. "Playing out in the outfield is just another option for him. So I'll go out there and prove that I can handle it and make him a little more comfortable maybe using me there whenever he needs me."

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper (knee) told reporters Thursday he hasn't resumed baseball activities, but he's hopeful he'll go on a rehab assignment next week. He added the swelling in his knee hasn't gone down.

"I want to get back in this lineup 100 percent, not 80 percent," he said.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Harper will have his knee examined by Dr. James Andrews Monday.

Mets infielder Justin Turner had his first career start in the outfield Thursday against the Nationals. Turner, who has played one inning in his career in the outfield, enters play batting .214 (9 for 42) in his last 22 games (eight starts).

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has had two multi-hit games in four June appearances and has 13 multi-hit games since April 29. McCutchen is batting .331 (43 for 130) in his last 33 games, raising his season average from .216 to .284 in that span.

McCutchen is also slugging .500 with five home runs, seven doubles, eight stolen bases, 12 walks, 17 RBI and 21 runs in his last 33 games.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter extended his hitting streak to 14 games Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, going 4 for 5.

He had the team's lone extra-base hit, a double off starter Wade Miley, and raised his batting average to .333 in a 10-3 loss.

Carpenter is hitting .450 during his hitting streak, with five strikeouts in 60 at-bats. He has seven extra-base hits and 14 runs scored during the streak.