MLB Player News

Harper is in Monday's lineup at designated hitter as he deals with some general body soreness, but he is expected to play first base Tuesday in Miami, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Harper has six games at first base under his belt, all in the last 10 days, but he will DH on Monday for the second day in a row. He is hitting .310 with two home runs and two steals across 23 games in July.

Blackmon (hand) will join Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Blackmon, who has been on the injured list since June 11 with a fractured right hand, is expected to play for Albuquerque on Tuesday and Wednesday before the Rockies potentially activate him ahead of this weekend's three-game series in St. Louis. Though his power has dipped considerably over the past few seasons and he's no longer an active baserunner, Blackmon should remain a plus source of batting average while also occupying a top-three spot in the Colorado batting order once he returns from the IL.

Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Brewers.

He took Hoby Milner deep in the sixth inning to tie things up at 6-6, setting the stage for a game-winning Matt Olson homer in the eighth. Ozuna will be sorry to see Milwaukee leave town -- he had two doubles and four long balls during the three-game series to bust out of a July slump. On the season, the 32-year-old is slashing .236/.309/.479 with 22 home runs and 49 RBI in 87 contests.

Encarnacion-Strand started at first base and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and was hit by a pitch in Sunday's 9-0 win over the Dodgers.

Luckily, the HBP was from position player Miguel Rojas, whose 56 mph eephus didn't do much damage. It was just Encarnacion-Strand's third time reaching base over the last 16 plate appearances. After a promising first week in the majors, he's struck out eight times in the last 14 at-bats. Despite his lack of production thus far, Encarnacion-Strand should be fairly secure in a near-everyday role after a regular spot opened up for him with Jonathan India's (foot) move to the 10-day injured list Sunday.

Martinez (hamstring) will undergo an MRI after exiting Sunday's game against the Reds, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Martinez was in the starting lineup for Sunday's matchup, but he was replaced by a pinch hitter before making a plate appearance. Manager Dave Roberts said that the 35-year-old couldn't run or swing a bat Sunday, and his MRI should help determine the severity of his injury.

Martinez was removed from Sunday's game against the Reds due to left hamstring tightness.

The veteran slugger missed two games with the same issue early last week and apparently isn't fully past the injury. Martinez didn't have a plate appearance Sunday before being replaced for a pinch hitter during the second inning. He'll have Monday's team off day to rest up ahead of Tuesday's series opener versus the A's.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Lefty Brennan Bernardino is serving as Boston's opener Sunday, which is apparently enough to keep Pederson on the bench to start the contest. The veteran slugger has found his power stroke early in the second half with three homers and a 1.000 OPS through 14 games.

Soler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Soler started the past 26 games, but he has a .441 OPS since the All-Star break and will head to the bench Sunday. Garrett Cooper will rest his legs as the designated hitter while Yuli Gurriel starts at first base.

Choi is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

With Carlos Santana having been traded to the Brewers on Thursday, Choi has settled in as the Pirates' primary option at first base, starting each of the last three games at the position while going 4-for-12 with a home run, two doubles and an additional run and RBI. Though Connor Joe will get the nod at first base Sunday while southpaw Cristopher Sanchez takes the hill for Philadelphia, the lefty-hitting Choi should be fairly secure in a strong-side platoon role.

Vientos went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Saturday's 11-6 loss to the Nationals.

The rookie took Andres Machado deep in the ninth inning for a solo shot after ripping an RBI double in the second. Vientos has started five of the last seven games -- three at DH and two at third base -- and he figures to keep a near-everyday role after Tuesday's trade deadline, especially if the Mets ship out players like Tommy Pham and Mark Canha. Vientos is earning that playing time, hitting .333 (7-for-21) since his most recent promotion with two doubles and a homer, but his 1:7 BB:K over that seven-game stretch suggests his batting average will fade even if his power is legit.