MLB Player News

McCutchen, who is slashing .132/.207/.302 in his last 58 plate appearances since April 29, is batting third Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Despite his struggles, McCutchen is batting .333 with three homers and eight RBI against left-handed pitching in 2017. With Arizona throwing southpaw Robbie Ray (against whom McCutchen has two hits in five career at-bats), perhaps the outfielder can get back on track. Certainly, his .226 BABIP figures to inch closer to his career mark of .328, or at least his 2016 number of .297.

Martinez went 3-for-4 with three RBI from a go-ahead solo home run and a two-run shot in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Angels.

The slugging outfielder made his presence felt in only his second game of the season, snapping a 3-3 tie in the top of the ninth with a 381-foot solo shot that would prove to be the game-winner. Martinez had taken Angels starter Ricky Nolasco deep with Victor Martinez aboard in the second as well for his first round tripper of the season. The 29-year-old's bat has been missed as he recovered from a foot injury over the first several weeks of the season, but if Saturday's effort is any indication, he appears ready to contribute his customary level of production.

Harper went 1-for-4 with a walk and a two-run, walk-off home run during Saturday's 6-4 win over the Phillies.

He also scored a second run, giving him an incredible 39 runs through 32 games to go along with 11 homers and 31 RBI. Harper's heroics capped a day in which he signed a record-breaking one-year deal to avoid arbitration in 2018, but $21.65 million could look like a relative bargain next season given his current .368/.493/.726 pace.

Belt went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk during Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

The first baseman is now up to six home runs and 16 RBI with a .220/.352/.432 slash line. The dip in batting average and slugging percentage will likely climb closer to his .272 average and .460 slugging percentage entering 2017 over the course of the season, but with San Francisco struggling offensively and fielding a weak lineup, Belt might struggle to match last season's career-high 82 RBI.

Manager Andy Green said Saturday that Dickerson (back) could return by mid-June so long as he avoids any setbacks in his rehab, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Dickerson progressed to cardio work and weight lifting last month and recently resumed some baseball activities, although it's not entirely clear what all he's doing at the moment. He was diagnosed with a disc protrusion in his back during spring training, but surgery was deemed unnecessary.

Pederson is not in the lineup Saturday against the Rockies, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

With Tyler Anderson, a southpaw, taking the mound for the Rockies, Pederson will head to the bench. The Dodgers will send Enrique Hernandez to center field in Pederson's place. Look for Pederson to return to action for Sunday's series finale against Colorado.

Blackmon isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers, Jake Shapiro of BSNDenver.com reports.

Blackmon had a great game Friday, as he went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. However, he'll sit out of Saturday's outing while Gerardo Parra starts in center field. Blackmon will likely return Sunday versus the Dodgers.

Jimenez (shoulder) was assigned to High-A Myrtle Beach and is starting at DH and hitting cleanup Saturday.

The Cubs' top prospect missed the first 35 games of the season with a bone bruise in his right shoulder, but will make his Carolina League debut versus Lynchburg this weekend. Jimenez has huge long-term upside in the batting average and power categories, profiling as a prototypical middle-of-the-order corner outfielder.

Harper agreed to a one-year contract with the Nationals on Saturday worth $21.65 million, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

Harper has been a major catalyst for the Nationals throughout his tenure in the big leagues, so Washington decided to reward him for all his efforts with the biggest contract for an arbitration-eligible player in history. On top of that large sum of money, he'll also get an additional $1 million if he wins the MVP award in 2018. With this out of the way, Harper can focus on continuing to tear apart the league with the 1.213 OPS he's posted this season.

Miller is out of the lineup Saturday against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He is in a pretty big funk to start the year, hitting .195/.342/.317 with two home runs and three steals in 152 plate appearances. While it is not encouraging to see him benched for the second time in three games, it makes sense to sit the lefty-hitting second baseman against dominant southpaw Chris Sale. Daniel Robertson will start at second base and hit second.