MLB Player News

Cespedes (heels) began light running and took batting practice on the field Friday, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Cespedes has been throwing in the outfield and hitting in the batting cage for a few weeks, but this looks to be the start of his running program. The 33-year-old shouldn't be expected to return anytime soon, as general manager Brodie Van Wagenen answered "time will tell," when asked about Cespedes' prospects of playing in 2019.

Winker will sit Friday against lefty Rich Hill and the Dodgers.

The Reds are in the middle of a stretch of facing lefties in four out of five games. Winker started Thursday against Jose Quintana, but he's gotten the call against less than half of the lefties the Reds have faced this season, so it's no surprise he sits on this occasion. Jose Peraza starts in left field Friday.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.

Ozuna joined Matt Carpenter in leaving the yard for the Cardinals during the eighth inning of a blowout defeat, with the round tripper serving as Ozuna's second of the three-game set against the Braves. The veteran slugger is enduring a rough May at the plate overall, as he's hitting just .183 (11-for-60) over 15 contests. However, there are plenty of signs that his troublesome shoulder is back to full health, with Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reporting that he headed into the series against Atlanta with a barrel percentage (17.9), average exit velocity (92.6 mph), hard-contact rate (51.4 percent) and xSLG figure (.594) that all ranked in the top seven percent of the majors.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.

Carpenter's eighth-inning, 398-foot shot was only the veteran's second home run since April 17 and snapped a 1-for-19 funk that had encompassed his previous four-plus games. Manager Mike Shildt recently gave Carpenter a vote of confidence with respect to his leadoff role, but the fact remains that, despite Thursday's round tripper, the 33-year-old infielder is currently hitting under .200 (.196) for the second consecutive month.

Reyes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the Padres' 4-3 victory over the Padres on Thursday.

Reyes continues to flash impressive power as he checked in with his 13th long ball of the season in this contest with a third-inning solo shot off Trevor Williams. The 23-year-old has employed a more aggressive approach in 2019 and has taken just eight walks through 139 at-bats, which has contributed to an unimpressive .300 on-base percentage. However, it's also resulted in the increased power production, as he's also laced six doubles to go along with the 13 homers to give him a robust .590 slugging percentage.

Harper will start in right field and bat second Thursday against the Brewers.

Harper has made all of his previous 42 starts this season as the No. 3 hitter, but he'll swap spots in the order with Jean Segura in the series finale. Manager Gabe Kapler likely decided to make the change in an effort to spark Harper, who has struck out in a career-worst 30.8 percent of his plate appearances this season. If Harper finds some initial success while batting between Andrew McCutchen and Segura, the big free-agent pickup could remain in that lineup spot on a permanent basis.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Pederson will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale with left-hander Matt Strahm starting for the opposition. In his place, Chris Taylor is starting in left field and hitting sixth.

Harper is in the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers despite a sore knee.

Harper said following Tuesday's game that he had a sore left knee after making a pair of sliding catches. The injury evidently isn't serious enough for him to miss any starts, so he'll keep his streak of starting every single game for the Phillies this season.

Belt is dealing with renewed discomfort in his knee, Amy Gutierrez of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

This explains why Belt is out of the lineup against a right-hander Wednesday. The veteran first baseman recently returned from a two-game absence, and with Thursday's off day, the Giants wanted to play it safe and give him a couple of days off to get right. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first base and hitting cleanup in his place.

Belt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt rejoined the lineup Tuesday after missing a pair of contests due to a knee injury, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in his first game back. There has been no news suggesting the first baseman suffered a setback Tuesday, so it appears the Giants are simply easing him back into action. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first and hitting cleanup in place of Belt.