MLB Player News

Belt (knee) entered Friday's loss to the Rockies in the seventh inning and struck out in his only plate appearance.

The red-hot Belt was held out of the starting lineup after experiencing knee soreness following Thursday's contest, but he was healthy enough to enter Friday's game in a key situation. While he was unable to extend his homer streak to five games, the fact that he stayed in the game to play left field indicates that his minor knee ailment shouldn't be an issue going forward.

Blackmon went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Colorado's 6-1 victory over the Giants on Friday.

Blackmon had been in a bit of a slump lately that saw his normally sky-high batting average dip all the way down to .267, but he launched a ninth-inning long ball off the Giants' Jose Valdez for his 12th of the season. The 1-for-5 showing meant his average went down to .265 despite the homer but he's still getting on base at a .373 clip and boasting a robust .543 slugging percentage despite the recent slump and Blackmon is one of the best hitters in baseball, so there's little reason to believe he won't see his average climb back up toward its usual heights in short order.

Colon was signed to a minor-league deal by the Mets, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports Friday.

Colon was brutal in limited action between the Royals and Marlins last year, with a .160/.236/.180 line in 24 games. The 29-year-old will report to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Belt (knee) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy indicated he was likely to give Belt the day off Friday after it was revealed the veteran first baseman was dealing with knee soreness, but he was still going to feel things out in batting practice. The 30-year-old will get an additional day to rest up before being evaluated again Saturday, with Buster Posey taking over at first base for the Giants on Friday.

Choi will be recalled by the Brewers on Friday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Choi somewhat surprisingly made the Brewers' Opening Day roster and scored the go-ahead run in the 12th inning on Opening Day but was sent down having received just one plate appearance. He's fourth on the organizational depth chart at first base, but with Eric Thames (thumb) and Ryan Braun (back) both on the disabled list, he could get a brief run of playing time, especially during this weekend's series in an AL park against the Twins.

Manager Bruce Bochy said that Belt is dealing with knee soreness following Thursday's loss to the Rockies, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The knee issue must have surfaced after the game, as Belt seemed fine during the contest, going 2-for-5 with his 10th home run and fourth in as many games. Bochy said he was planning on giving his first baseman the day off Friday in order to rest the knee, but he said he will see how the slugger feels during batting practice. The club's willingness to let Belt feel things out indicates that the injury may not be too serious.

Turner went 3-for-4 with two doubles, five RBI and one run scored in Thursday's win over the Marlins.

It didn't take long for Turner to get things going at the plate, as the third baseman is now 6-for-13 (.462) with just one strikeout in three games since returning from the disabled list. Thursday's five-RBI effort was the first multi-RBI performance from a Dodger this month and is a solid reminder of what Turner is capable of doing when healthy. He'll look to stay hot at the plate as the Dodgers head to face the Nationals over the weekend.

Reyes is not in the lineup Thursday against the Pirates.

Reyes has started both games since his promotion, going 1-for-7 in those appearances, but he'll head to the bench for Thursday's series opener with right-hander Chad Kuhl toeing the rubber for the Pirates. Travis Jankowski is starting in right field and hitting leadoff in his stead.

Pederson is out of the lineup Thursday against the Marlins, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

With the left-handed Caleb Smith on the bump for the Marlins, Pederson will bow out of the lineup and clear the way for Enrique Hernandez to man center field. Pederson and Hernandez are likely to work in a platoon going forward in light of Pederson's career-long woes against lefties. Over his 283 plate appearances versus southpaws across parts of five big-league seasons, Pederson has slashed .178/.270/.308 (60 wRC+) with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate.

Carpenter went 3-for-5 with an RBI double and another two-bagger in a win over the Twins on Wednesday.

A move down the batting order seemed to work wonders for Carpenter, as he snapped out of a nightmarish 4-for-48 slump with his first multi-hit effort since May 1. Manager Mike Matheny afforded Carpenter multiple games off recently in an attempt to allow him to hit the reset button on a dreadful start to 2018, and for at least one afternoon, that appeared to pay some dividends. Despite the productive performance Wednesday, Carpenter's .160/.297/.303 line has abundant room for improvement, as does the .208 BABIP that has also played a large part in his struggles.