MLB Player News

Carpenter will sit Monday versus the Giants.

Carpenter will get a day off after he went 0-for-5 with a walk and a strikeout while starting the final two games of the team's series with Tampa Bay. Rougned Odor will take over at designated hitter and bat seventh in the series opener with San Francisco.

Alvarez (oblique) went through some stretching Monday during pregame activities, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Though Alvarez didn't look to be going through an especially strenuous workout, it amounted to his first known physical activity since he was placed on the injured list June 9 with a strained right oblique. Alvarez isn't expected to resume baseball activities for at least another couple weeks and will need an additional week or more before he's ready for game action.

Canha is not in the starting lineup Monday versus the Astros, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Canha will take a seat after he went 1-for-6 with an RBI, a run scored and two walks during the team's three-game series with St. Louis. With Pete Alonso back at first base, Canha will now compete with Tommy Pham in left field for playing time. Pham will start in left field and bat fifth in the series opener with Houston.

Turner is not in the starting lineup Monday versus the Twins, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Turner will get a breather after he went 5-for-14 with two homers, two doubles, seven RBI and four runs scored while starting all three games of the team's series with the Yankees, including both contests Sunday. The 38-year-old has been on a tear in June, batting .318 with four home runs, 16 RBI, 11 runs and a stolen base over 66 at-bats in 16 games during the month. Masataka Yoshida will take over at designated hitter while Jarren Duran starts in left field and bats leadoff in the series opener with Minnesota on Monday.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 5-2 win against Kansas City.

Ohtani gave the Angels their first lead of the game with a fifth-inning two-run shot that was immediately followed by a Mike Trout blast. Ohtani has been on quite a power surge of late, homering in four of his past five contests and belting eight long balls across his past 10 games. He's in the midst of an MLB-best 15-game hitting streak, slashing .446/.543/.1.071 with nine homers, 20 RBI, 16 runs and three steals over that span. The two-way star leads the majors with 24 home runs on the season.

The Cardinals optioned Baker to Triple-A Memphis on Monday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

He'll move back to the minors to clear a spot on the 26-man active roster for outfielder Lars Nootbaar (back), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Following his promotion from Memphis on June 4, Baker started at designated hitter in his first two games with the Cardinals, but he cracked the lineup just once in the team's subsequent 11 contests. He'll get the chance to play on a regular basis in his return to Triple-A.

Blackmon (hand) believes he could be back sooner than his initially projected mid- to late-July return date, MLB.com reports.

Blackmon -- who went on the injured list a week ago with a fractured right hand -- has experienced improvement following treatment and the use of a bone stimulator to the point that he thinks he might beat his timetable. Injury optimism from players is not uncommon, especially early on in the recovery, but it's certainly a good sign that he's feeling better.

Morel went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Orioles.

Following a slump in late May and early June, Morel has gotten hot over his past eight contests with four home runs, 13 RBI and three multi-hit performances. The 23-year-old has a .291/.342/.700 slash line with 13 home runs, 28 RBI and 26 runs in just 31 games this year.

Harper is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at Oakland.

Harper has four multi-hit efforts in the past seven games but will take a seat for the first time in June. The 30-year-old has an .812 OPS through 40 games this season but has just three homers, and it's been 92 plate appearances since he last went deep May 25 in Atlanta. Kyle Schwarber will serve as the designated hitter Sunday while Cristian Pache starts in left field.

McCutchen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

McCutchen has a .211/.415/.289 slash line through 38 at-bats in June and will head to the bench Sunday after starting the previous four games. Bryan Reynolds will rest his legs as the designated hitter while Josh Palacios receives a start in the outfield.