MLB Player News

Harper (knee) is still "a long ways from running" according to manager Dusty Baker, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Although the outfielder has been able to resume his exercises in recent days, he revealed that he's dealing with a calf strain that occurred on the same play that he suffered the hyperextended left knee, which suggests there's still a lengthy journey ahead. Harper hasn't been able to do any drills on the field at this point, and with no clear return date set, Baker will give Jayson Werth some time in right field while Harper remains out.

Stanton went 1-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Nationals.

He was already one of only six players in history to hit 50 or more home runs before September, joining Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris and Luis Gonzalez in a very exclusive club, but Stanton's first-inning solo shot was also his 18th of the month -- tying Rudy York's 80-year-old MLB record for August, with two games left on the calendar. It's also worth noting that of the five other players in the "50 before September" club, only Gonzalez failed to finish the season with at least 60 homers.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and two runs scored against the Brewers on Tuesday.

Though the long ball is nice, Carpenter hasn't put together a multi-hit game since Aug. 8 -- a span of three weeks. It's nice to see his power showing up over the past couple games, as he also homered Sunday, but he's hit just .194/.324/.355 over his last 16 outings, contributing to this season's career-worst .244 average. That said, Carpenter's also sitting on a career-worst .277 BABIP, and his plate discipline and pop are still pluses. At only 31 years old, he should still be good for several more productive seasons.

Belt (concussion) may not return this season, Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy remains hopeful that Belt will return this season, but acknowledged Tuesday that he may not return until 2018. This should come as no surprise, given Belt's history with concussions. Ryder Jones should continue to serve as the everyday first baseman for the foreseeable future.

Harper (knee) is no longer walking with a limp and has resumed exercising, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports.

It sounds like Harper is starting to make some progress from the significant bone bruise in his left knee that he sustained Aug. 12, but since he's yet to do any on-field work, a return from the 10-day disabled list doesn't seem to be imminent. Even so, the Nationals remain optimistic that the outfielder will be back on the field before the end of the regular season and enter the postseason at full strength. Because of his uncertain return timeline, Harper makes for a difficult hold in shallower formats, but those in deeper leagues should continue to stash him on the bench in the event he's able to get in a week or two worth of games before the season draws to a close.

Ozuna went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Monday's loss to the Nationals.

While Max Scherzer was able to keep Giancarlo Stanton in check Monday night, he had no such luck with Ozuna. The 26-year-old is now slashing an electric .333/.430/.600 through 25 games in August with seven homers and 22 RBI.

Cespedes (hamstring) was ruled out for the season following an evaluation Monday, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

The minimum recovery time for Cespedes's right hamstring strain was judged to be six weeks. As such, the Mets will shut him down and look toward next spring. His season ends with a .292/.352/.540 batting line and 17 home runs over 81 games. Cespedes gave the Mets exactly what they expected when he was healthy, but unfortunately, that just wasn't often enough this season.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, two RBI and three runs in Sunday's 11-0 win over the Giants.

After he provided a solo blast in the sixth inning, Martinez's second home run came in between eighth-inning long balls by Paul Goldschmidt and Daniel Descalso, which helped the Diamondbacks break the game open. Since coming over from the Tigers in July, Martinez has gone deep 13 times in just 136 plate appearances, but a .231 average over that span has somewhat dinged his fantasy value.

McCutchen snapped an 0-for-15 slide with an RBI single Sunday in Cincinnati.

His lone hit of the game came after home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg refused to give McCutchen timeout while he was batting. The center fielder will look to snap out of his funk at Wrigley Field on Monday, where he holds a career slash line of .317/.424/.481 in 290 plate appearances.

Carpenter went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Rays.

The leadoff man's 17th long ball of the season tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning but was ultimately overshadowed by Logan Morrison's 10th-inning game-winner. Carpenter has now driven in 13 runs in his past 18 games after accruing only 48 RBI in his first 103 this season.