MLB Player News

Cespedes, who has been the designated hitter the last three games, including Sunday, due to some bruising on his legs suffered when he jumped into the stands after a flyball Wednesday, should be able to play the outfield Monday against the Phillies, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports.

Cespedes and the Mets have benefited from some favorable scheduling, with the team in Cleveland this weekend. The sore legs haven't impacted his swing, as he blasted home runs Friday and Saturday.

Soler was 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Rockies.

The Cuban-born slugger went back-to-back with Anthony Rizzo in leaving the yard in the fourth against starter Christan Bergman. Soler is seemingly awakening from a slow start to the season, reaching base safely in four straight and posting multi-hit outings in two of his last three starts.

Harper went 2-for-3, hitting his third home run in as many games Saturday against the Phillies.

The 23-year-old appears to be starting one of his signature tears, as he is 6-for-11 (.545) with three homers and nine RBI in the last three games. He also has five bombs in 10 games to start the year. It's obviously still early, but Harper is already well on his way to proving he was worth a top three pick in fantasy drafts.

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk Saturday against the Brewers.

McCutchen finally connected for his first homer of the season in the fifth inning to give the Pirates an insurance run in a winning effort. After a slow start, he's now posted extra-base hits in three of his last four contests while also hitting safely in four straight games.

Ruf is in the lineup Saturday, batting fifth and making his first start in left field.

Ruf had been slowed by a shoulder injury coming into the weekend, but he was able to come on as a pinch-hitter Friday and will be back in the lineup Saturday. He'll have the tough task of facing Washington's ace, Max Scherzer, on Saturday, but he's had moderate success in a limited sample against him, going 2-for-6 with a double and two strikeouts.

Cespedes went 3-for-5 with a double and two-run homer in Friday's 6-5 victory over the Indians.

The veteran slugger has started to come on after a modest start to the season, hitting .421 with two home runs and five RBI over his last five games. That stretch includes three multi-hit games and has improved his line to .286/.359/.486 on the season.

Ozuna was 3-for-5 with a double and run scored in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Braves.

Hitting in the two-hole, the four-year veteran put forth his best performance of the new season. The one blemish was when Ozuna couldn't deliver in a clutch eighth-inning RBI opportunity, as he struck out with two outs and the bases loaded. Friday's effort marked the 25-year-old's second multi-hit game of 2016, as he continues to find his way at the plate in the early going. Despite the three hits Friday, he's slashing a lackluster .229/.250/.371 over the first eight games.

Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer for Triple-A Iowa on Friday.

Like last year, Vogelbach is off to a fast start, as he's slashing .387/.441/.548 with nine RBI in 31 at-bats for Iowa. Also like last year, he's limited to where he can play and blocked in the majors. No one doubts he can hit, but it seems his ultimate destination will be in the American League, where he can regularly be the designated hitter.

Ruf (shoulder) was used as a pinch hitter in Friday's game. He went 0-for-1.

Ruf had been sidelined with a sore left shoulder. He will be in the starting lineup Sunday when the Phillies face lefty Gio Gonzalez.

Harper was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI as Washington thumped the Phillies on Friday night.

He got off to a relatively slow start, but has caught fire recently, raising his average to .313 with four long ones, and now totaling 11 RBI on the year. Harper is the furthest thing from a secret - when he's hot, the league can only hope to contain him, and that is never easy.