MLB Player News
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Ryan Goins DH | KC
Blue Jays' Ryan Goins: Sitting out Sunday
Goins is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers.
Though he was rested Saturday, Troy Tulowitzki experienced no issues with his hamstring in his return from the disabled list Friday and looks poised to take back his usual duties at the everyday shortstop, leaving no regular spot in the lineup for Goins. The 28-year-old could still receive a couple starts per week at either second base or shortstop when manager John Gibbons chooses to give either Devon Travis or Tulowitzki a day off.
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Bryce Harper 1B | PHI
Nationals' Bryce Harper: Out of Sunday's lineup
Harper is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Padres, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.
Harper will take a seat for the series finale, joining the bench along with Jayson Werth, Matt Wieters and Daniel Murphy. It will be Harper's first day off since May 6, costing fantasy owners a favorable matchup against soft-tossing right-hander Jhoulys Chacin.
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Mark Canha LF | TEX
Athletics' Mark Canha: Leading off Sunday
Canha will start in center field and lead off for the Athletics in Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Canha will take Rajai Davis' spot in the field and the batting order in the series finale, marking his third consecutive start. Though Canha's starting opportunities have been on the rise lately, his at-bats could dwindle during the upcoming week now that Yonder Alonso (wrist) has been cleared to return to the lineup. Canha should at least see regular duties against left-handed pitching, however.
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Andrew McCutchen DH | TEX
Pirates' Andrew McCutchen: Drives in three against Mets
McCutchen went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, a double and three RBI during Saturday's extra-innings win over the Mets.
Currently sporting a disastrous .212/.286/.385 slash line through 199 plate appearances, McCutchen is struggling to find the form that made him a fantasy superstar earlier in his career. He's providing respectable counting starts with seven homers, 23 RBI, 21 runs and five stolen bases, but he also has just eight multi-hit games all season. It's worth noting that McCutchen finished 2016 well with a .284 batting average and .852 OPS over the final two months, so perhaps another midseason turnaround is ahead.
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Yoenis Cespedes DH | NYM
Mets' Yoenis Cespedes: Suffers setback in rehab
Cespedes (hamstring) was scratched from Saturday's rehab start with High-A St. Lucie after experiencing quad soreness while running the bases and will not take at-bats until Tuesday, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.
It's the last thing the Mets wanted to hear regarding the slugger, who missed 14 games with a quad injury last season. Cespedes will stay in St. Lucie until he's cleared to return to regular activities, but it seems he won't be returning to the big leagues for at least another week or so. Expect a new timetable on his recovery to be released after a couple days of rest.
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Matt Carpenter DH | STL
Cardinals' Matt Carpenter: Takes seat Saturday
Carpenter is not in the lineup Saturday against the Rockies, Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest reports.
Carpenter will head to the bench for the first time in May after slashing .221/.371/.506 with six homers through the first 21 games of the month. Jedd Gyorko will slide over to start at first base in his stead, opening up a spot for Jhonny Peralta to start at the hot corner.
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Justin Turner DH | CHC
Dodgers' Justin Turner: Needs rehab assignment
Manager Dave Roberts said Turner (hamstring) will need a short rehab assignment, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.
While no date has been set for his rehab assignment or his return to the big club, the Dodgers are hopeful he'll be able to rejoin the team before the end of next week's road trip, which ends June 4 against the Brewers. A clearer timetable should become available once his rehab game is scheduled.
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J.D. Martinez DH | NYM
Tigers' J.D. Martinez: Sits for first game of doubleheader
Martinez is out of the lineup for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
The foot injury that sidelined him to begin the year has not prevented him from raking since returning to action, but it is understandable that the Tigers would want to give him a break for one of the two games Saturday. Tyler Collins will start in right field and hit seventh.
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Andrew McCutchen DH | TEX
Pirates' Andrew McCutchen: Still looking for answers
McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts Friday against the Mets.
The Pirates kept him out of the starting lineup Wednesday and Thursday in hopes of rebooting his season, but the initial results look pretty much the same. He struck out on three pitches in the ninth inning against reliever Fernando Salas and his 91 mph fastball. Manager Clint Hurdle moved McCutchen down to sixth in the batting order in hopes of taking some pressure off, but the outfielder is now slashing .167/.207/.256 with a 4:18 BB:K in his last 78 at-bats.
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Byron Buxton CF | MIN
Twins' Byron Buxton: Out of Saturday's lineup
Buxton is out of Saturday's lineup against the Rays, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
He is hitting .175/.267/.250 with a 34.8 percent strikeout rate over his last 40 at-bats, and has yet to emerge from his awful funk at the plate. Max Kepler will slide over to center field and hit cleanup while Robbie Grossman joins the fray in right field.