MLB Player News

McCutchen isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Saturday's contest against Miami, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McCutchen will get a breather Saturday despite the Marlins sending the left-handed Ryan Weathers to start on the mound. The 37-year-old is 0-for-9 to begin the season, and his absence will give Edward Olivares a chance to start at DH and bat fourth.

Pederson went 4-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's win over the Rockies.

Making his Diamondbacks debut after taking a seat Opening Day against lefty Kyle Freeland, Pederson immediately made an impact. He ripped a double in the first inning followed by an RBI single in the third. Three of his four hits registered over 98 mph off the bat, including a pair over 100 mph. Arizona has the depth to sit Pederson against lefties often, but his ceiling against righties will keep him relevant in most fantasy formats.

The Mets optioned Martinez to Triple-A Syracuse on Monday.

Since Martinez didn't sign with the Mets until last week, he didn't have sufficient time to complete his hitting progression in spring training, so he'll be left off the 26-man active roster ahead of Friday's season opener versus the Brewers. The Mets haven't indicated if Martinez will immediately report to Syracuse for the start of its season Friday, or if he'll continue to see live at-bats at the Mets' spring training facility in Florida. Either way, Martinez will join the Mets and serve as their everyday designated hitter once he spends around 10 days in the minors compiling at-bats, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Morel went 2-for-5 with a triple and a run scored in Thursday's 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Rangers.

Morel had a good game but almost had a great game, as he narrowly missed a grand slam on a long foul ball in the top of the 10th inning with the contest tied 3-3. The 24-year-old batted cleanup, and he should have the opportunity to post strong numbers this season from the middle of Chicago's lineup, particularly in the power department.

Morel will serve as the Cubs' designated hitter and cleanup batter in Thursday's season opener versus the Rangers.

The Cubs gave Morel plenty of run at third base this spring in hopes that he would capture that job. While he still figures to be used plenty at the hot corner, it displays some lack of trust in Morel's defense on manager Craig Counsell's part that he's not playing the field Opening Day. Fantasy managers mostly care that he's just in the lineup, of course, and that he's hitting cleanup shows faith in his bat.

Pederson is out of the lineup Thursday's game against the Rockies.

Southpaw Kyle Freeland will start Thursday's game on the mound for Colorado, sending the lefty-hitting Pederson into the dugout. Blaze Alexander will serve as the Arizona's designated hitter, making his MLB debut while Pederson sits.

Ohtani (elbow) played catch Monday for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last September, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani was spotted throwing in the outfield following a scheduled press conference Monday afternoon to address the formal investigation into the matter involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, where Ohtani denied knowledge of Mizuhara using his money to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker and voiced his full cooperation with the investigation, per Sportsnet LA. "I never bet on baseball or any other sports, or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf," said Ohtani. "And I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports. Up until a couple days ago, I didn't know this was happening." As for Ohtani's rehab from elbow surgery, the team previously indicated that he'd begin a throwing program upon returning to Los Angeles, and if all goes well, he could have an outside shot to play in the outfield or at first base later in the season.

The Cubs optioned Canario to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Canario made a push for an Opening Day roster spot but ultimately came up short. The 23-year-old missed much of the 2023 season while recovering from multiple surgeries but did get a cup of coffee with the big club in September. He could be used at all three outfield spots at Iowa.

The Mets optioned Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Vientos looked as though he might begin the season as the Mets' top designated hitter in the short term while the newly signed J.D. Martinez completed his ramp-up program, but Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may prefer to take a committee approach to the DH spot until Martinez is ready to go. As a result, Vientos won't join the Mets for Opening Day, while the team instead reserves its final backup spot for infielder Zack Short, who offers more defensive versatility than Vientos. The 24-year-old Vientos should still be at the top of the list for a call-up if the Mets lose starting corner infielders Pete Alonso or Brett Baty or Martinez to an injury at any point in 2024.

The Nationals selected Winker to the major-league roster Sunday.

The 30-year-old joined the Nationals as a non-roster invitee in February and earned a place on the Opening Day roster with a .932 OPS in 15 Grapefruit League games. Winker posted a .567 OPS with Milwaukee last season but was limited to 61 games while returning from neck and knee surgeries, and he'll likely need to be more productive in 2024 in order to stick around in Washington.