MLB Player News

McCutchen is out of the lineup Sunday against the Phillies.

McCutchen will get the day off after making 15 straight starts in center field and going 1-for-7 at the plate during the first two games of the series. A cold start for McCutchen has led into a July in which his OPS (.725) is the same Sunday as it was back on the first of the month. While the outfielder gets a maintenance day, Starling Marte will cover for him in center field, while Matt Joyce draws the start in right.

Harper (rest) is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Padres, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

It appears manager Dusty Baker is simply giving Harper a regular day off, as his last one was all the way back on June 30. Harper was 0-for-7 at the plate during the first two games of this series, so that, mixed with the fact that the Nationals are facing lefty Christian Friedrich on Sunday, all added up to be perfect timing for a maintenance day. In his stead, Chris Heisey will get the call in right field.

Stanton went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI in a victory over the Mets on Saturday.

The big right-hander had just one hit in his previous 13 at-bats, so it was nice to see him break out again. This was his first home run since winning the Home Run Derby. Stanton is hitting .241 with 21 homers, 55 RBI and 44 runs in 311 at-bats.

Choi went 1-for-4 with a solo homer against the Astros on Saturday.

Choi's second home run of the season pulled the team within five runs in the fifth inning of a road loss. He's now hit safely in seven of 10 games in July, but he's only slashing .163/.276/.327 over 53 at-bats on the year.

Cabrera went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, a run and two RBI Friday at the White Sox.

Cabrera's two-run single in the seventh inning broke open a 5-5 tie, leading the Tigers to a road win. He's now collected multiple hits in each of his last three games, and he's slashing .300/.376/.515 on the year.

Miller is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the A's, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Miller will head to the bench with a left-hander in Sean Manaea due up for Oakland, as is standard whenever the Rays face a southpaw. With five homers so far in July, Miller is now up to 15 homers on the year. His role as the starting shortstop and No. 2 hitter against right-handers appears safe.

Carpenter (oblique) has been cleared for limited baseball activities, Jennifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter was taking grounders and throwing to first on Friday before the Cardinals game against the Dodgers. It's unclear when Carpenter will be cleared to start a rehab assignment, but this is a step in the right direction. Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia have been filling in at third base during Carpenter's absence.

Brantley (shoulder) underwent a procedure to remove scar tissue from his shoulder, Zach Meisel of Clevelanddotcom reports.

Brantley underwent an MRI on Wednesday after feeling additional discomfort in his shoulder which necessitated a procedure to remove scar tissue that had built up. While he's expected to resume baseball activities next week, he's likely due to spend another 3-4 weeks sidelined as he returns to full strength. He projects to return sometime in August as the Indians look to secure a top seed in the American League.

Soler (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment on Saturday for Double-A Tennessee, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Soler, who has a history of hamstring injuries, has been sidelined by the Cubs since June 7. The Cubs will play it safe with the 24-year-old to make sure his hamstring is 100 percent before activating him to the roster. With teammate Chris Coghlan also on a rehab assignment, the Cubs outfield could become crowded very quickly.

Vargas is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The 25-year-old has hit the ground running since his return to the majors, going 12-for-39 (.308 average) with 10 of those hits going for extra bases. Vargas will head to the bench Friday against a southpaw (Eduardo Rodriguez), as he did Monday the last time the Twins faced a lefty, but it looks like Vargas will be a regular part of the Minnesota lineup against right-handed pitching moving forward.