MLB Player News

Nationals manager Davey Johnson was planning on sitting outfielder Bryce Harper for the final two games of the weekend series with the Padres, but Harper made it known that he was not pleased with this plan.

Harper sent Johnson a text message and then spoke with him prior to Saturday's game and Johnson ultimately relented, putting Harper in left field and third in the lineup. The message Harper sent Johnson, jokingly?

"Play me or trade me."

"Since a trade is out of the question, I decided to play him," Johnson told reporters with a smile.

It is not yet clear if Harper will get his way yet again if Johnson wants to give him Sunday off. 

Nationals manager Davey Johnson indicated Friday that outfielder Bryce Harper will likely be out of the starting lineup against the Padres Saturday and Sunday, MLB.com reports.

"I'll probably give Harper a couple days off," Johnson told MLB.com. "I think he's just fighting himself ... He's just … coming back from the long layoff, I think [he] hadn't had much break when he came back. I just need to back off him a little bit."

Harper went 0 for 4 against the Padres Friday, making him 0 for 15 over his last four games after hitting a home run in his return on July 1.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna snapped out of a mini-slump Thursday, as he had a huge game in a 4-3 win over the Braves.

Ozuna went 3 for 5 in the game, with his third home run of the season. Ozuna drove in another run with an RBI single, finishing the game with two RBI. He also stole one base, his fifth of the season.

Ozuna is now hitting .293 with a .750 OPS, three home runs and 29 RBI in 225 at-bats. 

For the first time since early April, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was able to push his batting average to .300 against the Phillies Wednesday.

McCutchen went 3 for 3 with a pair of walks to raise his average from .293 to .300. He added a triple and scored twice in a 6-5 win.

McCutchen has spent the last two months making up for a poor April, when he batted just .247. He hit .324 in May and .303 in June, and is already 4 for 6 in two games in July. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt homered in a rain-shortened game Monday against Cincinnati. 

Due to the rain, the solo shot was Belt's only official at-bat. Belt also walked. Belt has six home runs and 15 doubles in 45 games (37 starts) since May 9 and has raised his slugging percentage from .337 to .452.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper homered in his first game back from the disabled list Monday against Milwaukee.

Harper went 1 for 4 with a solo blast in his first at-bat. He's hitting .286/.387/.597 with 13 home runs on the season.

As expected, the Nationals have activated outfielder Bryce Harper Monday.

Harper is expected to make his return against Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo. He hasn't played since late May with a knee injury. Harper is hitting .287/.386/.587 in 150 at-bats.

When asked about outfielder Bryce Harper's return to the starting lineup, Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth made some strange comments, according to The Washington Post. 

"We’ll see which Bryce shows up," Werth said. "Of course, getting Bryce back will be huge. How many teams would like to acquire a power, left-handed bat and an outfielder who plays with his hair on fire? If he plays with his hair on fire. Like I said, we’ll see which Bryce shows up."

Harper had established a reputation of going all out prior to the injury. After running into the outfield wall in Los Angeles, Harper was more timid. While Werth could be hinting at Harper getting back to his all-out antics, first baseman Adam LaRoche took a different approach. "We just need to keep him out of trouble, keep him away from anything dangerous and he’ll be all right," LaRoche said.

Harper is hitting .287/.386/.587 in 150 at-bats. 

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter extended his hitting streak to 10 games Sunday with his first three-hit game in nearly four weeks against the Athletics.

Carpenter went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a home run, his first game with multiple extra-base hits since May 1. He scored two runs and drove in another in a 7-5 loss. The home run was his seventh and third in June.

Carpenter is hitting .322 with 32 RBI in 311 at-bats. He has 100 hits in 77 games after entering the season with 88 hits in his previous 121 games. 

The Nationals expect Bryce Harper to return from the disabled list Monday, and the Washington Post reports Sunday the team will send down a pitcher to make room for him.

Harper finished his four-game rehab stint Saturday for Double-A Harrisburg, finishing 4 for 11 with three extra-base hits while recovering from a knee injury. Harper is expected to start Monday against the Brewers, batting third and playing left field. The Nationals could use Harper as they are 15-16 without him in the lineup, compared to 25-18 when he played.

"Just add his energy, doing what he does," outfielder Denard Span said. "Some silly stuff. But just his presence, I think it gets everybody going. I think it will be good to have him back tomorrow."

Harper was hitting .287/.386/.587 before his injury.