MLB Player News

Stanton (side) is not in Friday's lineup against the Braves, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Stanton will miss his third straight game on Friday after sitting out Wednesday's contest against the Rays and then being held out of the lineup Thursday. Manager Don Mattingly said he had "a little soreness" on his right side and with Stanton's line of .173/.287/.373 in May, this rib soreness could contribute to his slump. Stanton's status for Saturday's game is uncertain, and the Marlins will start Cole Gillespie in right field Friday.

Ramirez is 16-for-42 in his last 10 games at Double-A Altoona, bringing his 2016 batting average to .299.

Ramirez hasn't wasted any time to make an impression during his first season at the Double-A level. He currently has Altoona's second best batting average and is one of three players on the squad with at least 20 RBI. Ramirez is rated as one of the Pirates' top prospects, and rightfully so, as he's a rare player that has the ability to hit for both power and average. However, with an exceptional outfield containing Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gregory Polanco, the Pirates have no need to rush Ramirez's development and he'll likely finish 2016 with Altoona. He's missed considerable action, has trouble with his throwing accuracy and is still an overall poor baserunner, despite the stolen bases.

Dickerson has hit five home runs and 16 RBI in 11 games since returning to Triple-A El Paso.

Dickerson's fantastic play following his return from San Diego has resulted in his batting average and slugging percentage shooting up to .411 and .696 respectively. If his dominance at the plate continues, the Padres may very well see the merit in giving Dickerson another shot in the MLB. During his brief eight game appearance with the Padres this season, Dickerson went just 2-for-10 (albeit with a home run). However, San Diego's league worst batting average of .221 and lack of quality outfield depth could justify giving Dickerson another opportunity to prove his value in the show.

Ozuna went 2-for-5 and scored a run Thursday against the Rays.

The center fielder pushed his average to a season-high .333. After a slow first month, Ozuna is hitting .426 with a ridiculous 1.189 OPS in May. His .249 ISO is more than 100 points higher than his career average, and he's benefited from a fortunate .394 BABIP. Enjoy the hot streak while you can, because eventually Ozuna's poor contact rate and high strike out tendency will likely catch up to him.

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak announced Thursday that Carpenter (paternity) is expected to return to the lineup Saturday, Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest reports.

Carpenter left the team Wednesday to be with his wife for the birth of their child and he was subsequently placed on the paternity list Thursday. Per MLB rules, Carpenter can miss up to three games while on the paternity list, so he will miss Thursday and Friday's tilts, but he should return for Saturday's game against the Nationals.

Vogelbach, 23, is batting .308/.421/.503 with seven home runs and 32 RBI through 42 games for Triple-A Iowa.

Vogelbach is having a nice start to the season, but he is blocked by Anthony Rizzo at the big league level. As a result, he could be trade bait. Until an injury or trade occurs, he will be forced to stay in the minors.

Carpenter was placed on the paternity list Thursday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Carpenter will take a brief leave of absence from the team following the birth of his child. Per MLB rules, he'll have to miss at least one game, but no more than three games. As such, Carpenter could be back as early as Friday or as late as Sunday, when the Cards wrap up a four-game set in Washington. In a corresponding move, St. Louis recalled infielder Greg Garcia from Triple-A.

Stanton (side) is not in Thursday's lineup against the Rays, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Stanton was held out of Wednesday's game with what manager Don Mattingly called "a little soreness" on his right side, and the issue is apparently still persisting. The outfielder should continue to be considered day-to-day, and the Marlins will go with Cole Gillespie in right field Thursday.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a run and two strikeouts against Arizona on Wednesday.

The 2013 NL MVP has hit safely in six of his last seven games, and has gone 10-of-30 over that span. The talented center fielder has yet to gone in one of his patented streaks, but he seems to be heating up on May to the tune of a .294 average.

Belt suffered a mild ankle sprain in Wednesday's matchup with the Padres, CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlocvic reports.

Belt injured his ankle sliding into second base, but appears to have dodged a bullet. While it looked potentially serious, the sprain is fortunately mild. He was 0-for-3 at the time of his exit. The Giants have Thursday off, so Belt will have some extra time to heal up, but his status for Friday is certainly up in the air.