MLB Player News

Vogelbach will sit against lefty Martin Perez and the Twins on Friday.

Vogelbach hasn't been completely hidden against lefties this season, but he's started against just four of the 13 the Mariners have faced so far. Edwin Encarnacion will be the designated hitter Friday, with Ryon Healy starting at first base.

Cespedes (heels) began light running and took batting practice on the field Friday, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Cespedes has been throwing in the outfield and hitting in the batting cage for a few weeks, but this looks to be the start of his running program. The 33-year-old shouldn't be expected to return anytime soon, as general manager Brodie Van Wagenen answered "time will tell," when asked about Cespedes' prospects of playing in 2019.

Choi will sit Friday against lefty CC Sabathia and the Yankees, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Choi has now been on the bench against all but three of the 13 lefties the Rays have faced this season. Yandy Diaz gets the start at first base.

Winker will sit Friday against lefty Rich Hill and the Dodgers.

The Reds are in the middle of a stretch of facing lefties in four out of five games. Winker started Thursday against Jose Quintana, but he's gotten the call against less than half of the lefties the Reds have faced this season, so it's no surprise he sits on this occasion. Jose Peraza starts in left field Friday.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.

Ozuna joined Matt Carpenter in leaving the yard for the Cardinals during the eighth inning of a blowout defeat, with the round tripper serving as Ozuna's second of the three-game set against the Braves. The veteran slugger is enduring a rough May at the plate overall, as he's hitting just .183 (11-for-60) over 15 contests. However, there are plenty of signs that his troublesome shoulder is back to full health, with Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reporting that he headed into the series against Atlanta with a barrel percentage (17.9), average exit velocity (92.6 mph), hard-contact rate (51.4 percent) and xSLG figure (.594) that all ranked in the top seven percent of the majors.

Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Braves on Thursday.

Carpenter's eighth-inning, 398-foot shot was only the veteran's second home run since April 17 and snapped a 1-for-19 funk that had encompassed his previous four-plus games. Manager Mike Shildt recently gave Carpenter a vote of confidence with respect to his leadoff role, but the fact remains that, despite Thursday's round tripper, the 33-year-old infielder is currently hitting under .200 (.196) for the second consecutive month.

Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in a loss to the Twins on Thursday.

The 404-foot blast accounted for half of Seattle's runs in the game and marked Vogelbach's third consecutive game with a home run. Though his batting average (.248) has tumbled in recent weeks, the powerful first baseman is showing that his breakout season is no fluke, as he is now tied for fifth in the American League with 12 homers.

Buxton went 2-for-5 in a victory over Seattle on Thursday, driving in three runs with a fourth-inning home run and scoring twice.

Buxton's blast off Seattle starter Erik Swanson blew the game open for Minnesota and marked the fifth time in his career that he has homered in consecutive games. The speedy outfielder has been red-hot of late, batting 10-for-22 (.455) during his current six-game hitting streak.

Reyes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the Padres' 4-3 victory over the Padres on Thursday.

Reyes continues to flash impressive power as he checked in with his 13th long ball of the season in this contest with a third-inning solo shot off Trevor Williams. The 23-year-old has employed a more aggressive approach in 2019 and has taken just eight walks through 139 at-bats, which has contributed to an unimpressive .300 on-base percentage. However, it's also resulted in the increased power production, as he's also laced six doubles to go along with the 13 homers to give him a robust .590 slugging percentage.

Canha went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Tigers.

Canha entered the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning but delivered his homer in the top of the ninth. It was his fourth home run of the season and second since being activated from the injured list Monday. He will likely continue to get most of his at-bats against left-handed pitching, serving as depth both at first base and in the outfield.