MLB Player News

Miller, who was activated from the injured list Tuesday, is a candidate to fill in all over the infield and as the designated hitter while multiple players are sidelined due to COVID-19 infection, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Miller's return from an ankle injury couldn't have come at a better time, as the Cardinals will be fielding a makeshift roster for the time being. The veteran brings a level of versatility ideally suited for such an unprecedented situation, as he's played every non-pitching position except catcher during his seven big-league seasons and even has 34 games of DH experience from his time in the AL with the Mariners, Rays and Indians. The current personnel shortfall for the Cardinals could equate to Miller enjoying frequent playing time in the short term.

Carpenter, who's filled the designated hitter role for the first five games of the season, is projected to shift to third base as part of the domino effect of Paul DeJong's (illness) absence, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter has started 635 career games at the hot corner, so the move, which is necessitated by Tommy Edman shifting over to shortstop in DeJong's stead, should be a good fit and should continue to keep the veteran's bat in the lineup on an everyday basis. Carpenter is slashing .200/.294/.267 over his first 17 plate appearances, but he should have plenty of opportunities to improve on those numbers for the time being without having to be overly concerned about a benching.

MIller (ankle) was activated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Miller had been dealing with heel and ankle issues since early in camp. It's certainly a good time for him to get healthy, as the Cardinals placed six players on the injured list Tuesday amidst their coronavirus outbreak. That outbreak means the team won't be playing any games until Friday at the earliest, but Miller has a good chance to fill a somewhat significant role until his teammates get healthy.

The Mets placed Cespedes on the restricted list Sunday after he informed the team he was opting out of the 2020 season.

The transaction opened up spots on the Mets' 30-man active roster, 40-man roster and 60-man roster pool. Before opting out, Cespedes appeared in eight games for the Mets and went 5-for-31 with two home runs and four RBI.

The Dodgers are considering having Pederson bat leadoff against right-handed starters, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Los Angeles has been employing a matchup-based lineup strategy throughout the season, with Max Muncy batting first against right-handed starters and Mookie Betts leading off against southpaws. However, Muncy has been struggling of late, going 2-for-16 over his last four games. Pederson took over the leadoff spot against right-hander Chris Paddack on Monday and promptly went deep on the first pitch of the contest for his first home run of the season. Pederson has had plenty of success as a leadoff hitter in the past -- he hit 17 leadoff homers between 2018 and 2019, including a franchise-record nine last season.

Colon will start Monday's game against Cleveland, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Colon was scratched from Monday's lineup to make room for Joey Votto (illness), but he'll rejoin the starting nine as the designated hitter after Nick Senzel was scratched with a sprained left ring finger. Colon will bat eighth in Monday's contest.

Colon was scratched from the lineup Monday against the Indians.

Colon was initially slated to play first base in the Reds' series opener against Cleveland, but he'll take a seat after Joey Votto (illness) was activated and put in the starting nine. With Votto available once again and Mike Moustakas (forearm) back in the lineup, Colon's playing time should take a significant hit.

Colon went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in a win over the Tigers in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader.

Colon gave the Reds some extra cushion with his two-run single in the seventh inning. Prior to Sunday, the 31-year-old had gone hitless in three at-bats this season. At the moment, there's no room for him to get regular playing time in the Cincinnati lineup.

General manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced Sunday that Cespedes is opting out of the 2020 season for concerns related to COVID-19, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The 34-year-old never showed up to the ballpark for Sunday's game in Atlanta, and he apparently didn't inform the Mets that he was planning to opt out until the game was already underway, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. Cespedes is set to finish the season having appeared in eight games and going 5-for-31 with two home runs and four RBI. The veteran slugger is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020 season. Dominic Smith seems the likely candidate to take over as the Mets' primary designated hitter.

Cespedes didn't report to the ballpark for Sunday's game against the Braves and the team has been unable to contact him, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Cespedes was absent from Sunday's lineup for what appeared to be a standard day of rest, but there's apparently much more to the situation. The Mets have indicated he's safe but haven't provided specifics on the circumstances surrounding his absence, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.