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Jesse Winker DH | NYM
Reds' Jesse Winker: Odd man out
The Reds' four-man outfield rotation has come to an end, with Winker moving to the bench on a regular basis, C.Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports. Winker entered Wednesday's play hitting .245/.354/.325.
Interim manager Jim Riggleman believes that the rotation has hurt the offensive performances off all four Reds outfielders, and emphasized some of the previous offensive contributions of Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler as a rationale for choosing to play them over Winker. Duvall has been suggested as a trade target, but to have any leverage to trade him, the Reds need to play him and see him produce, so in the long run that still may be a path for Winker to gain playing time. Also in defense of the decision, Winker's power has once again disappeared -- he has just one homer in 178 plate appearances this season.
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Justin Turner DH | CHC
Dodgers' Justin Turner: Gets breather Wednesday
Turner is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
Turner will head to the bench for what appears to be a maintenance day after starting eight straight games. Breyvic Valera is starting at third base and hitting seventh in his stead. Turner is hitting just .255/.327/.383 through 13 games this season.
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Byron Buxton CF | MIN
Twins' Byron Buxton: Placed on 10-day DL
Buxton (toe) landed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Buxton fractured his left big toe in April but returned from the disabled list in mid-May. It has seemingly continued to be an issue for the 24-year-old outfielder, who will get his toe examined within the next few days. It's unclear at this point how long he'll be out of the starting lineup.
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Brad Miller DH | SD
Rays' Brad Miller: Takes seat Wednesday
Miller isn't in Wednesday's lineup against the Athletics, Juan Toribio of The Athletic Tampa Bay reports.
Miller returned to the lineup Tuesday after recovering from a facial contusion, but he will head back to the bench with a lefty in Sean Manaea due up for Oakland. C.J. Cron will take over at first base and is slated to bat second.
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Byron Buxton CF | MIN
Twins' Byron Buxton: Remains absent from lineup
Buxton isn't in Wednesday's starting lineup against Kansas City, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
It's unclear if Buxton is dealing with an injury, as Ryan LaMarre will take over in center field for the second consecutive game. If he is dealing with something, expect an update on his status prior to Thursday's series opener against Cleveland.
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Miguel Cabrera DH | DET
Tigers' Miguel Cabrera: Prepping for weekend return
Cabrera (hamstring) appears likely to return from the 10-day disabled list during the Tigers' weekend series with the Blue Jays, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Cabrera, who limited himself to batting practice Tuesday after going through intense baserunning and agility drills a day earlier, said he was "very close" to a return to the lineup, with Tigers skipper Ron Gardenhire seemingly supporting the first baseman's sentiments. While Gardenhire suggested it was unlikely Cabrera would be available for the final two games of the Tigers' current series with the Angels, Cabrera looks like he'll be ready to go in a few days once he builds up his conditioning and gets back in game shape following a nearly month-long layoff due to the right hamstring strain. Once Cabrera is back in the fold, John Hicks will likely transition to a bench role and see most of his playing time as the backup catcher behind James McCann.
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Marcell Ozuna DH | PIT
Cardinals' Marcell Ozuna: Late scratch Wednesday
Ozuna was removed from the starting lineup prior to Wednesday's tilt against the Brewers due to a jammed finger, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.
The injury appeared to occur during Tuesday's game on a play at second base. He was slated to start in left field and bat fourth, but Tyler O'Neill has since replaced the 27-year-old in the lineup. Ozuna will be available off the bench if needed, and he'll be considered day-to-day moving forward.
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Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Another productive night Tuesday
Carpenter went 1-for-3 with two RBI from a bases-loaded walk and a solo home run in a win over the Brewers on Tuesday, while also drawing a second free pass.
At one point earlier this month, Carpenter's season line stood at a dreadful .140/.286/.272. All three figures have seen massive boosts in recent weeks, with the 168-point increase in his slugging percentage (.272 to .440) being the most dramatic. Carpenter sports a blistering .404 average, .528 wOBA and 65.8 percent hard contact rate in the 58 plate appearances encompassing his last 13 games, a stretch during which he's racked up 13 extra-base hits (nine doubles, four home runs) and eight RBI.
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Franmil Reyes DH | WAS
Padres' Franmil Reyes: Goes deep in second straight game
Reyes went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over the Marlins.
Reyes had mashed 14 home runs in just 36 games with Triple-A El Paso before being called up, and he's now left the park in back-to-back contests with the big-league club. The 22-year-old is still hitting just .189 and has struck out in six straight games (38.5 percent strikeout rate), but should still see a path toward fairly regular at-bats in San Diego's outfield for the time being with both Franchy Cordero (forearm) and Wil Myers (oblique) on the disabled list.
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Bryce Harper 1B | PHI
Nationals' Bryce Harper: Three hits Tuesday
Harper was 3-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Baltimore.
The 25-year-old started the scoring in the top of the first inning with the solo shot to right field, and added a pair of singles off Orioles starter Dylan Bundy in the third and fifth innings. Harper is not consistently finding hits and has now drawn only eight walks in May, after having 37 in April. Harper has an unbalanced .209/.277/.527 slash line in 91 at-bats in May, but does still have eight home runs (and 17 home runs for the season).