MLB Player News
-
Brandon Belt DH | TOR
Giants' Brandon Belt: Belts sixth homer of season
Belt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double, two total RBI and a walk in Friday's loss against Arizona.
Belt smashed his sixth long ball of the season off reliever Hector Rondon, and that ended a streak of seven games without a homer for the veteran first baseman. Belt has been seeing the ball extremely well of late and is hitting .531 with a 1.709 OPS, three homers, eight RBI, nine runs scored and a 7:6 BB:K across his last 10 games.
-
Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Homers for lone run
Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Cubs.
Carpenter was the only Cardinal to manage a hit off Cubs starter Yu Darvish, and that hit left the yard in the sixth inning. It's the second homer of the year for Carpenter, to go with 14 RBI and 14 runs scored across 27 games. He's slashing .181/.340/.289 through 103 plate appearances.
-
Bryce Harper DH | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Receives Friday off
Harper won't be in the lineup Friday against the Mets, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
The veteran outfielder started the past 11 games, but he'll take a seat for the second time this season after going 6-for-37 with a .636 OPS during that stretch. Harper still has a .365 on-base percentage during that time frame, but he's also struck out 14 times. He should rejoin the lineup Saturday after receiving the day to reset.
-
Justin Turner DH | CHC
Dodgers' Justin Turner: On track for Tuesday return
Turner (hamstring) is expected to come off the injured list before Tuesday's game against Arizona, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports.
Turner was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Aug. 29) on Sept. 1. The Dodgers have an off day Monday, so a Tuesday return would mark a minimum IL stay for the third baseman. While Turner's return is imminent, the team is likely to take a cautious approach to his playing time down the stretch given his recent history of hamstring injuries. "We certainly have some off-days looking out later to September, so there's the balance of not red-lighting him, but also you got to ramp him up to get ready for the postseason so he's sharp," manager Dave Roberts said. "We'll thread the needle with that."
-
Daniel Vogelbach DH | TOR
Brewers' Daniel Vogelbach: Claimed by Milwaukee
Vogelbach was claimed by the Brewers on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
The Brewers designated Justin Smoak for assignment in a corresponding move, so Vogelbach may be able to walk right into the strong side of a platoon at designated hitter. Vogelbach has a career .212/.342/.434 slash line and 111 wRC+ against righties, compared to a .142/.269/.271 line and 54 wRC+ against same-handed pitching. He is known as a horrible defensive first baseman, so most of his starts should come at DH.
-
Andrew McCutchen DH | TEX
Phillies' Andrew McCutchen: Sitting Thursday
McCutchen is not in Thursday's lineup against the Nationals.
He has been swinging a hot bat, slashing .333/.362/.644 with four home runs, two steals and just three strikeouts over his last 10 games. Jay Bruce is starting in left field while J.T. Realmuto gets the start at designated hitter.
-
Brad Miller DH | SD
Cardinals' Brad Miller: Clubs another homer
Miller went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk during Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Reds.
The veteran infielder entered the series with only two home runs through 18 games, but he apparently loves Great American Ball Park with three homers in the past two days. Miller has taken over the everyday role as the Cardinals' designated hitter with a .333/.464/.667 slash line and 19 RBI.
-
Marcell Ozuna DH | PIT
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Stays hot
Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Red Sox.
One game after blasting three home runs, Ozuna stayed hot at the plate by slugging a solo home run Wednesday. He now has 12 long balls on the season. Besides his power production, Ozuna has collected at least one hit in 14 of his last 15 games, during which he's slugged eight home runs while also collecting 20 RBI and scoring 12 runs. Overall, he's maintained a .301/.390/.624 line across 154 plate appearances.
-
Bryce Harper DH | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Racking up free passes
Harper went 1-for-2 with three walks and a stolen base Tuesday in the Phillies' 6-0 win over the Nationals.
Harper is batting 4-for-27 with no home runs over his last eight games, but he's been more of an asset in on-base percentage leagues during that stretch, racking up 10 walks against seven strikeouts. The fact that Harper has stayed healthy and remained active on the bases (5-for-5 on steal attempts) has allowed him to justify his draft-day cost, regardless of league format. He'll be in the lineup again for Wednesday's series finale, marking his 31st start in the Phillies' 32 games to date.