MLB Player News

Winker was recalled from Triple-A Louisville on Monday.

With Zack Cozart (quadriceps) and Bronson Arroyo (shoulder) both landing on the disabled list, the top prospect will make a return trip to the big leagues to help fill the void. Winker still hasn't shown much power in the minor leagues, compiling just two home runs in 64 games this season, but his .317 batting average and 33:32 K:BB in that span give him some appeal, especially in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. It may be tough to get regular at-bats with Scott Schebler, Adam Duvall and Billy Hamilton occupying the outfield spots at the moment, but Winker could be a fixture in the lineup for the next three games with the Reds having the DH spot available for their series in Tampa Bay this week.

Brantley is scheduled to rejoin the Indians on Monday after missing the team's weekend series following the birth of his child Thursday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

In Brantley's absence, Jose Ramirez hit from the third spot in the batting order in each game of the weekend series. However, comments made by manager Terry Francona suggest that won't remain the case, as the switch-hitting Ramirez offers more protection to Edwin Encarnacion in the cleanup spot.

Turner went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a base hit and a walk in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Reds.

Turner's homers have been scarcer than most expected, but when health has prevailed, he's offset the power outage by hitting .385 on the season, which will put him in the mix for his first career batting title once he picks up enough at-bats to qualify. The third baseman's hit streak now sits at 13 games, three shy of the career-best mark he established in April.

Ozuna finished 1-for-3 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Braves.

With the Marlins trailing 4-2 in the eighth inning, Ozuna tied the ballgame with a 395-foot shot to left center. Miami went on to lose 5-4, but it was another productive day for Ozuna, who is now slashing .324/.391/.583 in 289 plate appearances this season.

Belt is batting fifth in the order during Sunday's game against the Rockies, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt has spent the past month primarily hitting out of the three hole for the Giants, but he will find himself batting fifth for the first time this season Sunday. Manager Bruce Bochy hopes that the shift in the order will help jump-start Belt's ice-cold bat, as the 29-year-old is hitless in his previous 17 at-bats. Brandon Crawford will occupy the third spot in the order Sunday.

Vargas will start at first base and bat fifth Sunday against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Robbie Grossman hitting the bench for a second straight game, Vargas will enter the lineup for the sixth time in eight contests. Grossman had seemingly emerged as manager Paul Molitor's preferred option at designated hitter earlier this month, but Vargas' uptick in at-bats of late suggests that may no longer be the case. Grossman hasn't helped his cause by going 0-for-12 over his last three starts, but Vargas has started to slump a bit too after bashing out four of the Twins' franchise-record 28 hits in Tuesday's blowout win over the Mariners. Since that contest, Vargas has gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts.

Pederson will start in center field and lead off Sunday against the Reds, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Both of the Dodgers' primary leadoff options in recent games, Chris Taylor and Chase Utley, will receive days off in the series finale, so Pederson will jump four spots in the order to set the table for Los Angeles. Over 27 at-bats as the Dodgers' No. 1 hitter this season, Pederson has recorded seven hits and has scored five runs.

Cespedes is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Manager Terry Collins had previously announced that Cespedes would be getting Sunday off after starting three straight games from Thursday to Saturday. The timing is a bit unfortunate, as the star left fielder is coming off a monster four-hit game from Saturday's contest. Curtis Granderson will hold down left field in his absence, but Cespedes should be back in the lineup Monday against the Dodgers.

Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.

After going 22 games without a homer, Cabrera is starting to heat up. The veteran slugger has now swatted two out in his last three games. He's in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak --slashing .379/.419/.759 in 29 at-bats over that span -- and will look to keep swinging a hot bat as the Tigers wrap up their series with the Rays before heading out on an extended road trip.

Pederson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 10-2 win over Cincinnati.

The homer was Pederson's second in as many days, and he appears to have rediscovered the power stroke that evaded him through the first two injury-plagued months of the season. The Dodgers have two matchups against soft-tossing righties (Bronson Arroyo and Scott Feldman) on the docket, making the 25-year-old a strong short-term play with potential for more if he can keep things rolling.