MLB Player News

Ruf was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.

It has been a rough year for Ruf, as he has slashed just .158/.206/.193 in 63 big league plate appearances. He hit 20 home runs while slashing .294/.356/.529 in 95 games with Lehigh Valley this year, but it's pretty clear at this point that he is a Quadruple-A hitter. Look for him to play sparingly in the outfield and at first base down the stretch for the Phillies.

Ozuna (wrist) is out of the lineup Friday against the Indians, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

With Ozuna out for the second day in a row, Miami will deploy an outfield of Destin Hood, Christian Yelich, and Jeff Francoeur for their series opener against the Indians. Until further notice, consider Ozuna day-to-day heading into Saturday's outing.

Belt is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

Belt owns an .867 OPS against left-handers this season but is 0-for-6 in his career against Cubs starter Jon Lester, so he will get a day off with Lester on the bump for the Cubs on Friday. Buster Posey will man first base Friday in Belt's place.

Cespedes is not in the lineup Thursday against the Marlins, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

Cespedes has started each of the last three games, but he'll be held out for maintenance purposes Thursday. The slugger was still dealing with some minor discomfort in his quad earlier in the week, which the Mets are attempting to prevent from worsening.

Ozuna (wrist) is not in the lineup against the Mets on Thursday, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Ozuna injured his wrist Wednesday in an attempt to make a diving catch, and though he'll be held out with the ailment Thursday, he should still be considered day-to-day until further notice. In his absence, the Marlins will go with an outfield of Jeff Francoeur, Christian Yelich and Ichiro Suzuki.

Ozuna was forced out of Wednesday's matchup with the Mets due to a sore wrist, Marc Carig of News Day reports.

Ozuna was 0-for-2 before leaving the contest. He was replaced in the outfield by Jeff Francoeur. His wrist was injured during an attempt for a diving catch. He could potentially return to action for Thursday's series finale against the Mets.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader in Coors Field, the Los Angeles Times' Andy McCullough reports.

He will take a seat with lefty Tyler Anderson on the mound for the Rockies in Game 1, but should be back in the lineup for Game 2 against hard-throwing righty Jeff Hoffman. Enrique Hernandez is starting in center field and hitting sixth in the day game.

Harper went 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a run Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Washington's offense got to Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff early, as Harper drove in Daniel Murphy for the game's first run before coming around to score himself later in the inning. A career-low .262 BABIP has held the 2015 NL MVP back, but he's still one of the most potent hitters in baseball. Expect a late-season uptick in production, as his BABIP is likely to rebound back toward his career .319 mark.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

Pederson is 4-for-47 (.085) and owns just a .370 OPS against lefties this season, so it comes as no surprise that he will get a day off with a left-hander on the mound for the opponent Tuesday. Andrew Toles will man center field in Pederson's place.

Soler homered and knocked in two runs in a 3-for-4 game in Monday's extra-innings win over the Pirates.

Soler was just 3-for-23 over an eight-game home run drought dating back to August 18. That kind of inconsistency combined with the Cubs' ridiculous outfield depth means Soler is unlikely to play an everyday role down the stretch. Still, Soler has reached 10 home runs despite taking just 214 plate appearances -- he needed 404 plate appearances to hit 10 home runs last season.