MLB Player News

Pederson is out of the lineup Thursday against the Marlins, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

With the left-handed Caleb Smith on the bump for the Marlins, Pederson will bow out of the lineup and clear the way for Enrique Hernandez to man center field. Pederson and Hernandez are likely to work in a platoon going forward in light of Pederson's career-long woes against lefties. Over his 283 plate appearances versus southpaws across parts of five big-league seasons, Pederson has slashed .178/.270/.308 (60 wRC+) with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate.

Carpenter went 3-for-5 with an RBI double and another two-bagger in a win over the Twins on Wednesday.

A move down the batting order seemed to work wonders for Carpenter, as he snapped out of a nightmarish 4-for-48 slump with his first multi-hit effort since May 1. Manager Mike Matheny afforded Carpenter multiple games off recently in an attempt to allow him to hit the reset button on a dreadful start to 2018, and for at least one afternoon, that appeared to pay some dividends. Despite the productive performance Wednesday, Carpenter's .160/.297/.303 line has abundant room for improvement, as does the .208 BABIP that has also played a large part in his struggles.

Martinez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and two runs scored in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Athletics.

Martinez's first-inning home run gave the Red Sox an early cushion and was his 12th of the season. If it seems like Martinez is bashing homers every other day, that's because he's hit seven over the last 14 games. After a cold start to the season, Martinez has hit .388/.442/.716 since April 13 and is now tied for second in MLB with 36 RBI.

Belt went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Reds.

Belt has now gone yard in three straight games, and his nine home runs on the season already put him halfway toward matching last year's career-high 18. He's also slashing .301/.405/.562 -- all of which would be personal bests -- and looks poised to have his best season yet at age 30.

Alvarez (hand) was placed on the minor-league disabled list Wednesday.

It was originally reported that Alvarez suffered the injury after getting hit in the hand by a pitch, but it turns out the 20-year-old actually sustained the injury in an outfield collision back on May 6. He was apparently able to flex his arm and hand while walking off the field, but hasn't played since and is set to remain sidelined for at least another week. Alvarez was impressing early on in his first taste of Double-A ball, batting .299/.374/.542 with six homers and 26 RBI through 27 games before going down with the injury.

Brantley went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Tigers.

It was his sixth homer of the season and third in the last six games, as Brantley continues to enjoy a fantastic May. The 31-year-old is now hitting a cool .333 (20-for-60) on the month with four home runs, 18 RBI and 14 runs in 14 games.

Canha went 1-for-4 with a two-run double in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Canha's eighth-inning two-bagger gave the Athletics some valuable breathing room by extending their lead to 5-2. The 29-year-old outfielder's four hits over the last four games have been especially timely, as they've yielded five RBI overall. Factoring in Tuesday's production, Canha sports a career-high slugging percentage (.510) largely on the strength of 12 extra-base hits (six doubles, six home runs).

Soler (ribs) will DH and bat second against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, 610 Sports Radio - Kansas City reports.

Soler was forced to miss Tuesday's game due to a displaced rib that he suffered Monday, but he's apparently feeling good enough to go heading into the series finale. Fortunately, the Royals have a scheduled off day prior to Friday's game versus the Yankees, so Soler will get additional time to rest up following Wednesday's outing.

Carpenter will bat seventh in the Cardinals' lineup for Wednesday's game against Minnesota.

This marks the first time that Carpenter has been slotted into the batting order any lower that fourth since 2015. Over the past 16 games, he's gone just 4-for-48 with one home run, three RBI and 19 strikeouts.

Cespedes (hip) was put on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Monday.

Cespedes has been bothered by a strained right hip flexor since last Wednesday and was finally placed on the DL as it became clear that he needed some time to recover. With this stint being backdated to Monday, Cespedes will be eligible to return for the start of the Mets' series in Milwaukee on May 24. In a corresponding move, Phillip Evans was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to provide some extra depth in the outfield.