MLB Player News

Morel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Morel is 2-for-13 over the past four contests after sitting out one game with a neck issue, and he'll hit the bench for Sunday's series finale versus St. Louis. Patrick Wisdom is starting at third base while Yan Gomes rests his legs as the designated hitter.

Winker is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

The lefty-hitting Winker is bowing out of the lineup versus a right-hander (Bryce Elder) after an 0-for-3 day at the dish in Saturday's 4-3 win dropped his batting average to .194 for the season. The Brewers haven't yet pulled the plug on Winker as their regular designated hitter versus right-handed pitching, but his standing atop the depth chart could be shaky while he's struggled throughout the campaign to supplement his on-base skills with power (career-low .048 ISO).

Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Pederson is one of multiple left-handed-hitting regulars in the San Francisco lineup who will head to the bench while southpaw MacKenzie Gore takes the hill for Washington. The righty-hitting David Villar will replace Pederson as the Giants' DH

Martinez went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, two total runs and four total RBI in Saturday's 16-3 rout of the Rangers.

Martinez was one of four Dodgers with multiple hits and RBI in the victory, and his three-run blast in the fourth inning gave Los Angeles a 10-1 lead. The All-Star has been swinging a hot bat of late, slashing .389/.465/.750 with four homers and 14 RBI over his past nine games. Overall, Martinez is tied for fifth in the National League with 24 long balls and ranks third with 73 RBI.

Vogelbach is not in the lineup Saturday at Boston.

Mark Vientos will serve as the Mets' designated hitter and bat seventh with left-hander James Paxton set to toe the slab for the Red Sox. The left-handed-hitting Vogelbach has zero hits and six strikeouts in 11 plate appearances this year versus southpaws.

Carpenter remains on the bench for Saturday's game against the Tigers, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The veteran is hitting .169/.297/.307 on the season and has gone 2-for-33 at the plate in his last 16 games. As a result, he's lost his access to regular at-bats as a designated hitter, even against righties. Taylor Kohlwey filled that role Friday, but it will be Xander Bogaerts resting his legs there Saturday.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals.

Pederson snapped a month-long homer drought with his game-tying blast in the third inning, but the Giants were limited to just two hits over the rest of the contest. During his 23-game power drought, Pederson his just .167 with two doubles and a triple. The 31-year-old remains in a strong-side platoon role while primarily serving as the designated hitter. He's hitting .233 with a .781 OPS, nine homers, 34 RBI and 37 runs scored over 63 contests this season.

Choi went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-5 loss to the Angels.

Choi has homered three times in his last seven games while going 6-for-19 (.316) in that span. The warm bat has helped Choi remain in the mix for playing time between first base and designated hitter. Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen are also involved in that playing time battle with two spots available for the three players. Choi is at a .186/.210/.475 slash line with five homers, nine RBI, seven runs scored and two doubles over 62 plate appearances this season.

McCutchen is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Angels, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McCutchen will sit for a second straight game Friday after he went 2-for-8 with a double and a strikeout over the first two games of the team's series with Cleveland. Ji-Man Choi will take over at designated hitter and bat cleanup in the series opener with Los Angeles.

Harper is making his first professional start at first base Friday as the Phillies take on the Guardians, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Harper has been working out at first base for a while now and is finally ready to try his luck at the position in a game setting. If he proves capable of handling first base regularly, it opens up designated hitter for Kyle Schwarber and allows the Phillies to improve their defense in left field.