MLB Player News

Pederson will be on the bench for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rockies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Pederson went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in the afternoon game. He'll hit the bench for the nightcap with lefty Kyle Freeland starting for Colorado. Luis Matos starts in left field, while Mike Yastrzemski serves as the designated hitter.

Rooker will sit Saturday against the Padres.

Rooker leads Oakland in homers (25) this season, and his .239/.324/.467 slash line is good for a 119 wRC+, third on the team behind Ryan Noda and Zack Gelof. Under ordinary circumstances, that would probably be good for an everyday role, but with the 46-101 Athletics firmly in rebuild mode, expect them to continue spreading at-bats around down the stretch so they can evaluate what they have on their roster. Tyler Soderstrom will be Saturday's designated hitter.

Blackmon will be on the bench for the first half of Saturday's doubleheader against the Giants, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

The veteran outfielder will unsurprisingly not be asked to start two games on one day. Hunter Goodman will handle right field in the afternoon game, but Blackmon could return to the lineup for the nightcap.

Ohtani (elbow) was placed on the injured list with a right oblique strain Saturday, ending his season, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The injury ends not only Ohtani's season but likely his Angels career, with the team's continued failure to mount a serious playoff push during his six years in Anaheim widely expected to lead to his departure in free agency. He'll finish the season with a .304/.412/.654 slash line, representing career highs in all three components, as well as 44 homers and 20 steals. He also won 10 games and finished with a 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 167 strikeouts over 132 innings before being shut down from pitching in late August with a torn UCL in his right elbow. While he'll undoubtedly inspire quite the bidding war this winter, Ohtani will come with plenty of risk between the oblique issue and the elbow surgery he's likely to require during the offseason. Ohtani is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery, an internal bracing surgery or some other elbow procedure that will likely keep him from pitching for most, if not all, of the 2024 season.

Turner started at first base and went 2-for-4 with two doubles in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays.

Turner stepped in at first base for an injured Triston Casas (shoulder). The 38-year-old Turner has been a consistent producer and clubhouse presence all season for Boston and is expected to remain a regular over the final two weeks of the season. At this point, Adam Duvall is the veteran apt to lose plate appearances to younger talent.

Ohtani (oblique) cleared out his locker in the Angels' clubhouse Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The team did not provide an explanation following Friday's game, saying that it would provide information regarding Ohtani's status Saturday. Ohtani, who's facing an elbow procedure in the offseason, missed his 11th straight game Friday due to a right oblique injury. He worked out prior to the game in an effort to play, but after his locker was cleaned out, the presumption seems to be that he's shutting it down for the season. Even if this is it for Ohtani, he's arguably still the frontrunner for the AL MVP given his contributions on the mound and with the bat.

Rooker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-3 loss to the Padres.

Rooker has just seven hits over 10 games in September, but he's posted three homers despite a 5:17 BB:K in that span. The outfielder's blast Friday was his 25th homer of the season. He's added 59 RBI, 54 runs scored, three stolen bases, a .239/.324/.467 slash line and 18 doubles through 123 contests as one of the Athletics' better hitters this year.

Morel went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Morel has homered four times over his last eight games, adding seven RBI in that span. The 24-year-old's gotten back into form over the last week or so, which has in turn helped him stay in the lineup more regularly, though the Cubs have also faced southpaws in three of their last five games. For the year, Morel is slashing .248/.312/.504 with 23 homers, 67 RBI, 55 runs scored and four stolen bases over 96 games.

Harper was ejected from Friday's game against the Cardinals, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Harper was upset by a called second strike that looked to be high and out of the strike zone. He struck out swinging on the next pitch and after firing his bat and helmet toward the third-base dugout, directed comments in the general vicinity of home plate umpire Alex Tosi that got him tossed. Harper had gone 0-for-2 with a run and an RBI prior to the ejection.

Ohtani (oblique) is out of the lineup Friday against the Tigers, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Ohtani has now been out of the lineup for 11 straight games. He was in the original lineup Monday before being scratched, so perhaps the team believes he can return soon -- explaining the lack of an injured list stint. Randal Grichuk will take a turn at designated hitter while hitting sixth.