MLB Player News

Cespedes (hamstring) is back in the lineup, playing left field and batting third Saturday, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Although Cespedes stated before the game that he did not know if he was able to run at 100 percent, the Mets activated the slugger after going nearly a month and a half without him. Cespedes went down in late April with a pulled left hamstring and suffered a couple setbacks during recovery. With the Mets playing a doubleheader Saturday, Cespedes was added as the 26th man and will likely only play during the first game.

Harper is batting second in the lineup for Saturday's affair versus the Rangers, Dan Kolko of MASN reports.

Instead of his regular placement in the three hole, Harper will be playing in right and batting second, behind Trea Turner and ahead of Daniel Murphy. Although this is a minor adjustment, Harper could stay in this position depending on its success, especially with Jayson Werth (toe) out at least another week.

Martinez went 3-for-4 with a double in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Red Sox.

It wasn't his most productive effort, but the 29-year-old is now hitting .393 (11-for-28) through seven games in June with two homers, four RBI and five runs, pushing his slash line on the year to a career-best .310/.404/.747 pace. Martinez will cool down eventually, but after missing the first five weeks of the season with a foot injury, he has more than made up for lost time.

Ozuna went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in Friday's 12-7 win over the Pirates.

He continues to produce multi-hit performances, and Ozuna is slashing .407/.426/.644 over his last 14 games with four homers, eight RBI and 10 runs. The 26-year-old now sports a .954 OPS on the season that is an incredible 181 points better than his previous career high.

Stanton went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Friday's 12-7 win over the Pirates.

The blast, his 16th of the season, went over the batter's eye in PNC Park and traveled an estimated 449 feet, Stanton's third-longest homer of 2017. The slugger has stayed off the DL so far and is on pace for one of the most productive campaigns of his career, but given that he's only played 150 games in a season once since 2011, his continued good health can't be taken for granted.

Turner (hamstring) was activated from the disabled list Friday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

As anticipated, Turner will return from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since mid-May. He'll likely resume his normal spot in the heart of the Dodgers' order as he looks to build on his outstanding .379 batting average. Brett Eibner was sent to the minors to make room on the roster for him.

Cespedes (hamstring) is expected to be activated Saturday prior to the Mets' doubleheader with the Braves, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

The Cuban slugger is expected to act as the 26th man for the doubleheader and appear in one of the two games. This is a great sign for Cespedes' health, as the Mets have been taking things very slowly with him since he aggravated the hamstring injury in late April. Things will be interesting once he returns in full, however, as Michael Conforto has played extremely well in his absence, which likely means Curtis Granderson would be moved into a bench role moving forward.

Alvarez, 19, is slashing .397/.489/.667 with five home runs, 20 RBI and two steals through 22 games for Low-A Quad Cities.

The sample size is small, but the left-handed Cuban is crushing the ball out of the gate. At 6-foot-5, 225 lbs, Alvarez has home run power as well as the ability to swipe the occasional bag. He fits right at home in the Houston organization, and the Astros likely won't even mind the fact that he's averaging more than a strikeout per game.

Canha was sent down to Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Canha has been struggling mightily at the plate recently, going just 2-for-29 with 17 strikeouts over his past 10 games and hitting .191/.234/.393 with three home runs and seven RBI on the season. He will be replaced by Jaycob Brugman and heads back to Nashville for the first time since early May. If Canha can rediscover his groove at the plate, he is likely to return to Oakland at some point this summer.

Harper was 3-for-4 with one RBI, a walk and one strikeout Thursday against the Orioles during the Nationals' 6-1 win.

He was 2-for-13 following his suspension for charging the mound last week before Thursday. Consider it a good sign that Harper seems acclimated back to the daily swing of things.