MLB Player News

Pederson is not in the lineup Sunday against the Braves, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

He sits with southpaw Max Fried on the hill for Atlanta. Kyle Garlick will get the start in his place, hitting seventh.

Winker (back) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Both Winker and Joey Votto are dealing with back issues and will miss their fourth consecutive contests. Based on manager David Bell's recent comments, Winker's upper-back tightness may not have surfaced until Saturday, making it all the more surprising that the outfielder sat out the previous two games when the Reds were opposing right-handed starting pitchers. In any event, Winker's absence for the series finale will clear room in the outfield for Phillip Ervin. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that Winker will be available off the bench.

Goins started at third base and went 1-for-3 with a walk in Saturday's 6-5 win loss to the Angels.

Between injuries to shortstop Tim Anderson (ankle) and third baseman Yoan Moncada (hamstring), Goins has been a regular presence in the White Sox's lineup over the past four-plus weeks. That stretch of playing time may be coming to an end. Anderson was activated off the injured list earlier this month, and Moncada has played three games in two days while on rehab assignment. If he's not the roster casualty when Moncada is activated, which could come Monday, then he certainly will lose his grip on consistent at-bats while filling a role as the team's utility infielder. Goins is hitting .268/.366/.402 over 30 games since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte in mid-July.

Jimenez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Angels.

Jimenez took Angels pitcher Jose Suarez deep in the third inning to cap a four-run frame, but that would be all for the White Sox offense in the game. The outfielder is slashing .240/.293/.465 with 21 homers, 49 RBI and 46 runs scored in 87 games this season.

Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, three runs, two RBI and two walks in Saturday's win over the Marlins.

The 33-year-old continued his hot start to August, as he's now 23-for-63 with four home runs and 14 runs to begin the month. Blackmon has 91 runs and 67 RBI to accompany his 25 home runs this season.

Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in an 8-4 loss against the Athletics on Saturday.

The 22-year-old supplied the only Astros offense after the third inning during the defeat. The rookie is batting .344 but even more impressively, he already has 19 home runs in 192 at-bats. He's owns a .719 slugging percentage, 55 RBI and 34 runs in 52 games as well.

Belt went 2-for-5 with a home run and six RBI in Saturday's 11-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Belt blasted a grand slam off Diamondbacks starter Taylor Clarke in the second inning, giving the Giants a lead they never relinquished. Belt also had an RBI single in the third inning and plated the Giants' final run of the night on a groundout in the eight inning. The first baseman may be heating up after going 5-for-14 with two homers and eight RBI over his last three games. For the year, the 31-year-old is batting .232 with 14 homers, 48 RBI and 62 runs scored.

Ohtani threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani's velocity reportedly reached 85 mph Saturday, the highest number he's hit since undergoing Tommy John surgery last October. The 25-year-old also threw breaking balls for the first time since the surgery, saying that it was a good sign because his curveball hurt his elbow the most before the injury.

Ohtani is out of the starting lineup for Saturday's matchup against the White Sox.

Mike Trout will be the designated hitter as Brian Goodwin will get the start in center field and hit sixth against lefty Hector Santiago. Ohtani had made nine straight starts and was 14-for-39 with seven RBI and six runs scored over that stretch. The left-handed-hitting star is slashing .253/.330/.398 in 94 plate appearances against southpaws.

Winker is dealing with upper-back tightness, which is why he's sitting out Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "I just woke up. I slept on it wrong," Winker said. "That's when I first started feeling it. Then it progressively got worse. Just a little back spasm. Unfortunately, it happened, but I should be all right. Hopefully I will start to feel better by the end of today or start feeling better tomorrow."

Winker went on to say that the issue bothers him both when throwing and hitting. It's noteworthy and a bit cryptic that manager David Bell said that the back issue isn't why Winker didn't play Friday. "It's not why [Winker] didn't play last night," Bell said. "But it was a bigger reason why he's not playing today."