MLB Player News

Winker is not starting Friday against the Cubs, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Winker is hitting .458 with a 1.218 OPS over his last nine games, but the Reds' outfield rotation will continue, with Adam Duvall starting over him in left field. Winker has pretty much been as advertised this season, with excellent on-base skills but little power or speed, leading to a .277/.391/.403 line with six homers and no steals on the season.

Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Giants.

Ozuna took advantage of several RBI opportunities, driving in runs on a groundout and single. He showed signs of breaking out of his slump, recording his first two-hit performance since June 26th and his first extra-base hit since the 25th. While he had been on a tear at the plate in the first half of June, Ozuna entered Thursday's game with just a .278 slugging percentage over the last 15 days, so his season of hot and cold spells has continued.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, two walks and three runs scored Thursday against the Giants.

Carpenter took Johnny Cueto deep in the second inning for his 16th home run of the season. He now has at least one extra-base hit in three of his past four games and six of his last 10, helping him vault into the top 10 in the National League in OPS. While his power production stands out, Carpenter has also managed to raise his average to .264, his highest mark since April 2.

Carpenter went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, two doubles, a walk and a run in a win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Carpenter turned in another one of his superior performances from the top of the order, generating his third multi-hit effort over the last nine games. The veteran infielder is hitting a scorching .469 (15-for-32) with six doubles, two home runs, four RBI, six walks and 10 runs over that span, a stretch that includes a 5-for-5 tally against the Indians on June 26. After seeing his average and slugging percentage dip as low as .199 and .370, respectively, as recently as May 23, Carpenter has boosted those figures to .263 and .509, a season-changing surge that shows no signs of abating.

Winker went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

Winker provided a game-tying, two-run single in the fourth inning and then later came around to score in the frame as Cincinnati went ahead to stay. The 24-year-old had a productive June, slashing .308/.432/.513 in the month, and is following that up with a strong start to July as well. In four games in the month, he's hitting .556 (5-for-9) with two doubles, two walks, three RBI and three runs scored.

Cespedes (hip) is set to resume baseball activities Thursday, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

Cespedes will move on to the next phase of his rehab after beginning a running progression Tuesday that consisted of the outfielder sprinting at about 75-percent speed for 60-yard bursts. He'll likely take batting practice, perform positional drills and do some baserunning over the next couple of days, with the Mets potentially mapping out a rehab assignment for him thereafter. The 32-year-old looks like he could be trending toward a return from the 10-day disabled list at some point shortly after the All-Star break.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's victory over the Pirates.

Pederson homered for the second consecutive game, bringing his season total up to 13. The young slugger has looked a lot more like the strong power threat we saw in his first two major-league seasons. He's posting career-best marks in batting average (.266) and slugging percentage (.562) while maintaining strong on-base skills (.346). Pederson is currently situated on the strong side of a platoon in center field and also mans the leadoff spot in starts against right-handed pitchers.

McCutchen is not in the lineup versus Colorado on Tuesday, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group reports.

McCutchen will get a rare day off following 11 straight starts as Hunter Pence gets the nod in right field. Over the past two games, McCutchen has gone 0-for-10 and will look to clear his head before returning to the starting nine for Wednesday's series finale.

Goins agreed to a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Tuesday.

Goins will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The infielder played in 41 games with the Royals this year, slashing .226/.252/.313 with nine extra-base hits and six RBI. He will serve as added organizational depth for Philadelphia, but don't expect to see him make an impact at the major-league level.

Cespedes (hip) was able to resume a running progression Tuesday, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

Manager Mickey Callaway added that Cespedes is no longer feeling any soreness in the hip/quadriceps area, and that Tuesday's running "went really well," even though he was only going at 75 percent during a series of 60-yard sprints. The outfielder is expected to continue his progression over the next couple weeks while sprinkling in baseball activities once he's cleared to do so.