MLB Player News

Bruce Bochy has announced that Giants first baseman Brandon Belt will visit a doctor Friday to have two pins removed from his fractured left thumb, MLB.com has reported.

Bochy added that the next 10 days to two weeks will be critical in determining when Belt can begin a rehab stint.

Belt sustained his injury in mid-May after being hit on the hand by a pitch.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will not set a timetable for his recovery from thumb surgery, according to MASN.

Harper said he would be back when he feels healthy. Early Thursday, manager Matt Williams said he was hoping to get Harper back by July 1. Harper did add that he's "feeling better every day" during his rehab.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter went 5 for 5 with one walk, two doubles, two RBI and two runs in his team's 5-2, 11-inning win over the Royals Wednesday.

Carpenter has racked up multiple hits in six of his last eight games, and Wednesday's hit explosion gives him a batting average over .300 for the first time since early April. He has hit .307/.395/.395 with one home run and 20 RBI in 238 at-bats.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 3-2 loss to the Padres Wednesday.

McCutchen cut the Padres' lead to 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning, but they got the run back in the bottom half of the inning. The homer was McCutchen's second homer in four June games after failing to record a single home run in May. He has hit .299/.420/.472 with six home runs, 26 RBI and seven stolen bases in 214 at-bats.

The Nationals are targeting July 1 as a potential return date for injured outfielder Bryce Harper, NatsInsider.com reports.

"We don’t know yet, but I’d like to see him back by the 1st of July," manager Matt Williams said Wednesday. "I think that would be a good target, but we just don’t know. It depends on how everything else goes."

Harper has begun preliminary on-field work the past two days as he recovers from a torn ligament in his thumb suffered in late April. He has yet to receive clearance to catch the ball or take swings.

A right knee laceration has landed Phillies minor league outfielder Darin Ruf on the Triple-A disabled list.

Ruf was demoted from Philadelphia to Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt will be able to remove his cast for good Friday, a big step in his recovery from a fractured left thumb.

Belt will have X-rays taken in the thumb before he is cleared to move on his recovery, but could be able to begin baseball activities if he is. He has so far been limited to swinging off a tee with his right hand, but the San Francisco Chronicle reports he could be back two weeks after he is cleared to move forward.

Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna has hit .314 over his last 10 games, with three homers and seven RBI. He has three two-hit games in that span and has upped his average to .265/.313/.449.

Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter went 0 for 4 in Monday's loss to the Royals, snapping his 14-game hitting streak. He also lost a 28-game streak of reaching base at Busch Stadium, according to MLB.com.

Carpenter is hitting .286/.372/.368 in 231 at-bats, with one homer and 18 RBI.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner was one of the few bright spots in his team's 5-3 loss to the Pirates on Sunday.

Turner singled in a run in the second and took starter Edinson Volquez deep for a solo home run in the fourth inning. He finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBI. He has homered three times over the past nine games. He is hitting .262 with three homers and 12 RBI in 107 at-bats.