MLB Player News

Manager Mike Matheny reported Tuesday that the MRI on Carpenter's injured shoulder did not reveal any significant damage, FOX Sports Midwest reports.

Initial tests on Carpenter's shoulder provided good news, as the Cardinals' first baseman seems to simply be dealing with inflammation in his ailing shoulder. He'll see another doctor Wednesday and may soon receive a cortisone shot, but it appears that Carpenter is no worse than day-to-day.

Carpenter underwent an MRI on his injured right shoulder Tuesday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Carpenter has been plagued by shoulder pain this season and has now missed three of the team's past four games with the ailment. He's undergoing testing on his shoulder Tuesday to determine the best course of action moving forward, and the results of his MRI should be revealed shortly. He remains a day-to-day case.

Carpenter (shoulder) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres.

Jose Martinez is filling in at first base with Harrison Bader leading off. Carpenter was removed from Monday's game with shoulder tendinitis and later revealed that he's been dealing with nagging pain in the shoulder for some time. The issue is affecting both his throwing and hitting. To this point, the Cardinals have not given any indication as to when Carpenter may return to action.

Pederson was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

The Dodgers did not bring Pederson back right away when rosters expanded, choosing instead to continue his reclamation project in the minors for a while longer. He's back now, but Pederson failed to get going with Oklahoma City, and as a result of his prolonged struggles, figures to play a marginal role off the bench over the remaining weeks. Cody Bellinger is starting in center field Tuesday with Adrian Gonzalez at first. Chris Taylor and Alex Verdugo both figure to remain involved in center as well.

Harper (knee) played catch from about 30 feet Tuesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

This was a very minor catch session, but it was the first time Harper has played catch since the injury. He also walked the stadium stairs with team trainers, which, according to Zuckerman, is the most exercise Harper has done in a while. The pessimistic comments from the team last week about Harper being "a long ways from running" still carry weight, but it seems like he is making very gradual progress.

Martinez hit four home runs in five at-bats Monday against the Dodgers, driving in six runs in a 13-0 rout.

Most incredibly, he didn't hit one 'til the fourth, as Arizona's offense was a bit slow to get in gear despite the lopsided score -- but Martinez took the game over in the late innings, as he proceeded to homer in the seventh, eighth and ninth. The slugging right fielder joined an exclusive club in the process, as he's just the 18th hitter in MLB history (and the first Diamondback) to deliver a four-homer game. Through just 97 games split between the Tigers and D-backs, he's hit an incredible 34 home runs and racked up 79 RBI; that's a 162-game pace for 56 and 131. Eight of those homers have come in his last eight games, and he's been raising his batting average over that span too, going 12-for-30 (.400).

Carpenter, who left Monday's game with shoulder tendinitis, said he has been dealing with a nagging shoulder injury for some time and that "every throw hurts and most swings," Fox Sports Midwest reports.

At this point, we should probably expect Carpenter to play through the pain and put off any surgery or other rehab efforts until after the season. Carpenter has an excellent .241/.376/.436 batting line this season, but he's at just .200/.348/.347 over the past 28 days, according to Baseball-Reference. Even if Carpenter is able to take the field down the stretch, he may be too hurt to contribute.

Carpenter was removed from Monday's game against the Padres due to right shoulder tendinitis, Derrick Goold of the St. Loius Post-Dispatch reports.

Carpenter appeared to injure himself while striking out in the top of the fifth inning, and he was subsequently replaced by Alex Mejia before the bottom half of the inning. This issue likely explains his absence over the weekend, as Carpenter was withheld from the starting nine on Saturday and Sunday with no explanation. More should be known about the severity of the ailment following the conclusion of Monday's contest.

Pederson remains in line to see a promotion to the big leagues, but manager Dave Roberts would not provide a specific timetable, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

"I would expect Joc back," Roberts stated, before adding that "nothing is set in stone." Pederson managed just a .215 batting average across 87 games this season, and to make matters worse, his power also took a hit. He produced totals of 26 and 25 home runs in 2015 and 2016, respectively, but has tallied just 11 so far this season. Things haven't gotten much better since his demotion either, as he's slashing just .158/.222/.281 in the minor leagues. Pederson could eventually be used as a threat against right-handed pitching off the bench, but his days of consistent playing time in center field may be nearing an end. The Dodgers are currently giving Alex Verdugo an extended look there, and depending on how that goes, the job may or may not be returned to Chris Taylor once Corey Seager (elbow) is healthy. Los Angeles is simply too deep to give an all-or-nothing hitter like Pederson steady run in the postseason.

Carpenter is out of the lineup Sunday against the Giants.

While no word of injury has yet surfaced, it's certainly rare to see Carpenter held out in back-to-back games. Derrick Goold of the St. Loius Post-Dispatch reports that Carpenter has simply been told to take a few days off, and he has been using that time to get in extra batting practice. He's batting .194 since Aug. 1, so a slight mental break is perhaps what Carpenter needs to get back on track. While he gets another breather, Jose Martinez will man first base, with Kolten Wong at second and Alex Mejia at third.