MLB Player News

Velazquez is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

This marks the second absence in three days for Velazquez, who has struggled to a .129/.256/.194 slash line so far this month. His overall OPS is down more than 200 points from a year ago. He could see his playing time squeezed further in the short term due to Salvador Perez needing time at designated hitter to combat a knee injury.

Turner is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

George Springer will get the start at DH as Addison Barger takes over in right field against right-hander Ben Lively. Age has caught up to Turner in a hurry -- he's slashing .225/.314/.345 with four home runs this season -- and the veteran will likely continue to receive regular rest days as the Blue Jays work in newcomers like Barger and Spencer Horwitz.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

The lefty-hitting Carpenter finds himself on the bench for the fifth game in a row, with St. Louis having faced three lefties and two righties during that stretch. Though he appeared headed for a regular role at DH versus righties after Lars Nootbaar (oblique) was placed on the injured list May 31, Carpenter seems to have fallen out of favor after mustering a .130/.200/.261 slash line through his first eight games of June. The Cardinals may just prefer to rotate a number of regulars at the DH spot rather than settling on a primary option.

Machado started at third base and went 0-for-4 in a loss to the Mets on Saturday.

Machado recently missed four games due to a strained right hip flexor and was limited to DH duties in four straight contests following his return. The veteran was able to resume playing the field Saturday, though he didn't look like he was up to full speed while running out a grounder in the seventh inning. It's unclear how much the hip issue is bothering Machado, as he's batting just .200 (4-for-20) with no runs or RBI and seven strikeouts since returning to the lineup.

Martinez went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs, three total RBI and two walks in Saturday's 5-1 win against the Padres.

Martinez reached in all five of his plate appearances and registered his first multi-homer game of the season. The veteran slugger has gone deep three times in his past three games and has at least one RBI in six of his past seven contests. Of Martinez's past six hits, five (two doubles and three homers) have gone for extra bases.

Ozuna went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run against Tampa Bay in Saturday's 9-2 victory.

Ozuna hit one of three Atlanta homers in the fifth inning, cracking a two-run shot to center field. The long ball was Ozuna's 20th of the campaign, third-most in the majors. He's reached 20 homers in a season eight times in his career, including in each of the past three campaigns.

The Nationals signed Ramirez to a minor-league contract Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ramirez was released by the Rays earlier this week after hitting just .268/.284/.305 in 48 games. The 29-year-old is a career .287/.325/.408 hitter and has slashed .322/.357/.445 against left-handed pitching. Ramirez will report to Triple-A Rochester for now but is a good bet to be added to the Nationals' roster sooner rather than later, especially with Joey Gallo (hamstring) expected to miss significant time.

Calhoun is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the Giants, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Calhoun will remain on the bench for a third game in a row. Taylor Ward will make another start at designated hitter after recently battling a back issue, while Kevin Pillar enters the lineup in left field and bats fourth versus San Francisco.

Langford went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and an RBI in Friday's 3-2 loss to Seattle.

Langford had a run-producing single in the first inning then put himself in scoring position with a steal. It was his third steal in the last two games and fourth over the last five contests. Since returning from a hamstring injury in late May, Langford is batting .306/.346/.429 with four extra-base hits, nine RBI, four steals and four runs scored over 13 games.

Garver went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and two walks in Friday's 3-2 win over the Rangers.

Garver is up to eight homers this season, and he's hit three of them over his last eight games. In that stretch, he's batting .250 (6-for-24) with eight RBI and two doubles. It's encouraging to see more power out of the 33-year-old -- he went 18 games without a homer between May 13 and June 5. Garver is slashing a poor .176/.300/.352 across 230 plate appearances this season, though he's added 25 RBI, 23 runs scored and 10 doubles while seeing fairly steady playing time at designated hitter.