MLB Player News

Cespedes went 0-fo-4 with three strikeouts Saturday and started to hear boo-birds at Citi Field.

Following a hot spring, Cespedes has struggled to open the season. He is just 2-for-16 with seven strikeouts and has not yet driven in a run this year. Cespedes hot spring is but a memory, as he continues to swing at fastballs out of the zone. In addition, he showed his disdain for playing in cold weather, saying after the game, "This is not a time to be playing baseball. This is a time to be home asleep."

Blackmon is out of the lineup Saturday against the Padres, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Blackmon will sit for the second time in three games with lefty Drew Pomeranz on the hill for the Padres. Brandon Barnes will get the nod in center field and bat eighth in Blackmon's stead.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Giants.

With Madison Bumgarner on the hill for the Giants, the Dodgers are rolling out a primarily right-handed lineup for Saturday's contest. Pederson is 2-for-8 lifetime against Bumgarner and a career .203 hitter against lefties. Trayce Thompson will take over in center field Saturday.

Belt agreed to terms Friday on a five-year extension with the Giants, CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reports.

The financial details are not immediately available, but the deal is reportedly similar to the six-year, $75 million extension the team handed Brandon Crawford recently, although Belt's deal is expected to be slightly bigger. An average annual value of about $16 million per year starting in 2017, with a tweak to his current one-year deal for 2016 is expected. The Giants are locking up a promising young core, as Belt, who is about to turn 28, would have been a free agent following the 2017 season. San Francisco may be getting Belt at a bargain if it turns out that he has not yet peaked as a player, which is quite possible. Last year he slashed .280/.356/.478 with 18 home runs and nine steals in 137 games, and he is already getting on base at a .409 clip in the early going this year.

Soler is starting in left field and hitting sixth Friday against the Diamondbacks.

This should become a fairly regular occurrence with the news coming down Friday that Kyle Schwarber has a fully torn ACL and LCL and will miss the rest of the season. Soler had a really rough spring training, and if those struggles carry over into extended at-bats over the first couple months, the Cubs have other internal options they can go to, but his playing time should be pretty steady for now. Matt Szczur and Ben Zobrist could also see some starts in left field going forward, along with Javier Baez once he's healthy.

Turner is back in the lineup batting third in Friday's game against the Giants.

This will be Turner's fourth start in five games, a pace we can probably expect all year assuming he's healthy.

Ruf will start taking fly balls in left field Saturday, Matt Gelb of The Philly Inquirer reports.

With the Phillies struggling to score runs, the decision has been made to have Ruf start practicing in left field. Current starter Cedric Hunter is just 1-for-8 to start the season, and the Philles need a spark after starting the year 0-4. This move could lead to more at-bats for the 29-year-old and potentially eligibility in the outfield.

Blackmon is back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Padres. He will play center field and bat leadoff against Colin Rea.

After getting the day off Wednesday in Arizona, Blackmon will draw back into the order Friday for the Rockies' home opener. Blackmon will look to shake off his slow start (1-for-9) against right-hander Rea. Last season, Blackmon hit 31 points points higher (.295) against right-handers than he did against lefties.

Harper went 1-for-3 with two walks and scored twice in Thursday's loss to the Marlins. His only hit was a solo shot in the seventh, the 99th homer of his career, MLB.com reports.

The 2015 MVP is off to a quick start through the first three games of 2016, hitting .300 (3-for-10) with two walks, two RBI, three runs, two home runs and a stolen base -- especially useful numbers for those in 5x5 formats. Harper's speed has declined since entering the league, but his power numbers have exploded, hitting career-high levels in 2015 when the 23-year-old smashed 42 home runs with a .649 slugging percentage. Owners can expect to see more of the same this season, as Harper aims to amass 100 RBI for the first time in his young career.

Pederson went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored against the Giants on Thursday.

Four games into the season, we've seen a pretty familiar version of Pederson -- one who's off to a strong start and is showing his power bat, but has also struck out seven times in 16 at-bats. The enticing potential for a power-speed combo will keep him in fantasy lineups, but he's going to struggle with batting average again if he can't start making more contact.