MLB Player News

Pederson will be on the bench against lefty Kwang Hyun Kim and the Cardinals on Saturday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Pederson has had far more than a platoon role this season, as he started against four of the last five lefties the Cubs faced prior to Saturday's off day. For what it's worth, he's shown effectively no platoon split this year, posting a 96 wRC+ against lefties and a 95 wRC+ against righties. Patrick Wisdom starts in left field in his absence.

Dickerson is not starting Saturday's game against the Nationals, Mark W. Sanchez of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

After a 1-for-2 Friday, Dickerson is hitting .179 with two home runs and two RBI in his last 10 games. Thairo Estrada gets the start in left field and bats eighth Saturday.

Jimenez (pectoral) had his rehab outing at High-A Winston-Salem on Friday postponed due to rain.

Jimenez will get another opportunity to take at-bats Saturday, when the Dash compete in a doubleheader with Hickory. It's possible Jimenez is back in Chicago by the end of July.

Choi went 1-for-3 with a walk and three RBI in Friday's 7-1 win over the Blue Jays.

A bases-loaded hit by pitch in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the sixth accounted for Choi's production. The 30-year-old is on a tear with the All-Star break approaching, slashing .345/.457/.517 over his last nine games with a homer and eight RBI.

Ruf went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Friday's 5-3 win over Washington.

Ruf plated the Giants' first run of the game with a single in the first inning, then drove in another with a 433-foot solo shot in the fifth. The veteran has gone deep in each of his past two games and has homered three times across 12 at-bats since July 4. He is on pace to surpass his career high of 14 home runs set back in 2013 when he was with Philadelphia.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to Seattle.

The two-way star's solo shot in the third inning wasn't cheap -- it went 463 feet to right field. The long ball was Ohtani's league-leading 33rd of the season and 16th in his past 21 games. Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Ohtani is only the seventh player in MLB history to accomplish that feat, and the first American Leaguer. Needless to say, he is paying huge dividends for fantasy managers who plugged him into their lineup as a hitter this season.

Martinez went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI and two walks in Friday's 11-5 win over Philadelphia.

The designated hitter put Boston ahead for good with a three-run homer in the second inning. Martinez added a ground-rule double in the third to cap off a four-run rally that solidified Boston's lead. The 33-year-old is 8-for-26 (.308) with two homers, eight RBI and five runs scored through seven games in July. That's right about in line with his .303/.372/.562 slash line through 358 plate appearances overall.

Soler went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 2-1 loss to Cleveland.

The 29-year-old's first homer since June 10 tied the game at 1-1 in the eighth inning, but that was all the offense Kansas City could muster. Soler has put together a disappointing campaign so far, posting a .185/.280/.321 slash line with seven long balls, 15 doubles, 30 RBI and 26 runs scored through 304 plate appearances, and he's seen Ryan O'Hearn begin to carve into his playing time at DH.

Pederson went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, three RBI and two runs in Friday's 10-5 win over the Cardinals.

The 29-year-old enjoyed his third two-hit, two-run performance in his last four games. Home runs have escaped Pederson's game of late, as he hasn't hit one since June 18. Friday's game raised his batting average to a still-underwhelming .230, but he's raised that mark by 10 points in the last four contests alone.

Ramirez will sit Friday against the Royals.

Ramirez sits after starting 14 straight games. He's in the middle of his best big-league season to date, but his .269/.316/.445 slash line still isn't anything particularly exciting. Daniel Johnson will be the right fielder in his absence.