MLB Player News

Pederson was not in the starting lineup Saturday and went 0-for-1 off the bench in a win over the Braves.

Pederson was used off the bench with a left-handed starter on the mound, but he figures to be on the strong side of a platoon in center field with Enrique Hernandez now that Yasiel Puig (oblique) has returned from the disabled list. The young slugger is posting a career-best .265/.344/.531 slash line with 14 homers over 295 plate appearances, and he figures to maintain a semi-regular role in center with Puig and Matt Kemp occupying the corner outfield slots.

Reyes is expected to be optioned to Triple-A El Paso prior to Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

He's received just 12 at-bats since he was recalled from Triple-A on July 10, so this move certainly makes sense. Reyes has shown significant power potential this season but doesn't appear to be in the team's immediate plans.

Ozuna went 3-for-4 with a grand slam in Saturday's game against the Cubs.

He tagged Jose Quintana for the grand slam in the first inning but was unable to score or drive anyone in via his other two hits. Ozuna hit just .176 in his first 85 at-bats of the month but now has five hits over his last two games.

McCutchen is leading off Saturday against the Brewers, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Rookie Steven Duggar had been leading off for the Giants, but now McCutchen will get his shot against righty Jhoulys Chacin. McCutchen has a career .277/.357/.469 slash line as a leadoff hitter, but a lot of that production came when he was in his prime. He is hitting .255/.348/.408 with 10 home runs and nine steals in 440 plate appearances this season. If this lineup construction holds, McCutchen should see his runs tick up and his RBI tick down.

Miller was designated for assignment Saturday.

This was a pretty obvious move to make room for the newly acquired Mike Moustakas on both the 40-man and 25-man rosters. Miller, 28, is hitting .248/.311/.413 with seven home runs in 254 plate appearances this season and could very well be changing organizations in the coming days.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 in a win over the Cubs on Friday, but he's hitting just .191 with no home runs over 95 plate appearances in July.

Ozuna appeared to have finally hit his stride in his new St. Louis digs in June, when he hit .333 with two doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 21 RBI. However, all of those round trippers were bunched up in the first half of the month, and Ozuna hasn't left the yard since June 16. He has just two extra-base hits -- both doubles --in July as well, but interestingly, putting good wood on the ball hasn't been an issue. Ozuna sports a solid 39.2 percent hard-contact rate this month, but he's been getting the ball in the air much less frequently, as evidenced by a 52.7 percent groundball rate. The outfielder ran into the same issue in May (54.8 percent groundball rate), another month in which he unsurprisingly experienced a significant power drought (one home run).

Vientos went 3-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBI for Rookie-league Kingsport in Friday's win over Burlington.

The Mets' No. 6 fantasy prospect got a late start to the season but Vientos is finally getting locked in, slugging five of his six homers over the last 10 games and raising his slash line to .259/.331/.466, and he has an encouraging 12:19 BB:K through 29 games. The organization has no reason to rush the 18-year-old up the ladder, but if he continues to punish Appalachian League pitchers, he could make his Low-A debut before the end of the year.

Blackmon went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run in Colorado's 3-1 win over Oakland on Friday.

Blackmon continues his hot hitting, as this marked his fifth multi-hit effort in his last nine outings to bring his average up to .290 through 389 at-bats. His RBI total is down from last season, but he's leading the National League with 78 runs scored and he's also been able to push his slugging percentage from .457 to .506 with a hot month of July that's seen him slash .366/.418/.690 over 71 at-bats.

Belt (knee) will be shut down from baseball activities for at least five days to let his bone bruise heal, Shayna Rubin of The Athletic San Francisco reports.

The Giants have already placed Belt on the disabled list, and Rubin's report gives a clearer indication of how long he'll be out. Belt will be sidelined until early next week as a best-case scenario before resuming activities, but the Giants figure to have a further update on his outlook towards the end of that five-day window. Look for the Giants to lean on Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey at first base in the interim.

The Giants placed Belt (knee) on the 10-day disabled list Thursday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Belt seemingly avoided any serious damage when he hyperextended his knee Wednesday, but the Giants will still give him ample time to recover without taking up a roster spot. Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey are the favorites to see time at first base in Belt's absence.