MLB Player News

The Cardinals selected Baker's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. He'll serve as St. Louis' designated hitter and No. 7 batter in his MLB debut in the Cardinals' series finale versus the Pirates and left-hander Rich Hill.

The 26-year-old earned his first big-league call-up after slashing .313/.434/.641 with 29 extra-base hits (18 home runs, 11 doubles) to go with an impressive 17.8 percent walk rate and 21.7 percent strikeout rate over 244 plate appearances with Memphis. Though his bat certainly looks big-league ready, Baker's lack of defensive flexibility may hurt his chances of earning a permanent role with the Cardinals. He's played only at first base in the minors, and with reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt already entrenched at that position, Baker's path to playing time will likely come solely at designated hitter. Baker is further hurt by the fact that he's a right-handed hitter, potentially relegating him to the short side of a platoon.

Morel is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Padres.

Morel has not picked up a hit since May 26 against the Reds, and he's seen his average drop from .333 to .270 in the process. Edwin Rios will be the designated hitter and hit seventh against San Diego while Morel sits.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run in Friday's 8-4 win against the Yankees.

Martinez cracked a 413-foor solo shot to center field in the third inning for his 13th homer of the season over 166 at-bats. That's just three short of his total with Boston last year in 533 at-bats. The veteran has been particularly hot of late, going deep in four of his past five games and belting eight long balls across his past 12 contests. He also has 19 RBI and a .388/.396/.939 slash during the 12-game stretch.

The Brewers placed Ruf on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right knee laceration.

Ruf had to be pulled from Friday's game against Cincinnati after colliding with the tarp while chasing a foul ball, and apparently the damage was significant enough to warrant him being shut down for 10 days. Jon Singleton was selected from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.

Pederson (hand) will begin a rehab assignment Saturday with Low-A San Jose, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

Pederson will get a chance to face live pitching again after being placed on the IL on May 13 with a bruised right hand. The outfielder will likely need a few rehab games in the minors, but he could return as an everyday option for the Giants in the middle of next week.

Ruf was pulled from the Brewers' game against Cincinnati on Friday due to a right knee laceration, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Ruf came up bleeding after colliding with the tarp while chasing a foul ball. It's not yet clear how much time he might miss due to the injury.

Ruf was pulled from Friday's game against the Reds with an apparent injury, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Ruf ran into the tarp while chasing a foul ball and came up bleeding from his leg. He should be considered day-to-day for the time being.

Ozuna is not in the lineup Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Travis d'Arnaud will operate as Atlanta's designated hitter and bat fifth with right-hander Merrill Kelly on the mound for Arizona. Ozuna has gone 1-for-20 with six strikeouts over his last five games. He holds an overall .726 OPS this year versus righties and an .805 OPS versus lefties.

Vientos is serving as the designated hitter and batting seventh Friday versus the Blue Jays.

Vientos gets the nod here over Daniel Vogelbach, even with right-hander Chris Bassitt on the mound for Toronto. Maybe it's a sign that the 23-year-old will be in for more of an everyday role moving forward. He's primarily been limited to starts against lefties since being recalled May 17 from Triple-A Syracuse.

Vogelbach is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Blue Jays.

Vogelbach will take a seat after he went 0-for-4 with two walks, a run scored and a strikeout over a three-game series with the Phillies. Mark Vientos will take over at designated hitter and bat seventh versus Toronto.