MLB Player News

Cespedes exited Thursday's game against the Braves in the fourth inning due to what appears to be a leg injury, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

The Cuban slugger hobbled into second base on a double and immediately came out of the contest. It's unclear if this is an aggravation of the hamstring injury that sidelined him earlier this week or something new, but more details should emerge once team doctors can examine him further. Consider Cespedes day-to-day until further notice.

McCutchen extended his on-base streak to 16 games with an RBI double against the Cubs on Wednesday.

McCutchen is swinging at pitches outside the strike zone at a career-best rate of only 16 percent, though his 25 percent hard-contact rate represents a career low. At worst, it looks like he's put in a floor and probably won't decline much further in 2017. In fact, his slash line of .250/.326/.434 nearly mirrors that of 2016, when he hit .256/.336/.430.

Carpenter returns from his one-game suspension Thursday, batting third and playing first base in Game 1 of the doubleheader.

The infielder made contact with an umpire this past weekend and served his ban Tuesday before a Wednesday rainout. Hopefully Carpenter's owners will get a pair of contests out of him Thursday as they face Toronto's Mat Latos and Casey Lawrence, which could be a profitable day for St. Louis bats.

Martinez (foot) took live batting practice Wednesday and will play in an extended spring training game when ready, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The outfielder probably won't return until sometime in early May, at earliest, considering this timetable. Martinez may need a brief rehab assignment before activation.

Cespedes (hamstring) hit third and played left field Wednesday, going 1-for-4 in a loss to the Braves.

He didn't appear to be moving at quite 100 percent in the field, but the Mets apparently don't feel Cespedes can make his hamstring tweak any worse by playing. The 31-year-old is slashing .262/.370/.607 on the season with six homers and 10 RBI.

Harper went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run in Colorado on Wednesday.

He's been an on-base machine in the mold of Barry Bonds early on, as Harper's now hitting .432 with a .548 OBP (not to mention that .824 slugging percentage). All in all, it looks like he's poised to replicate or maybe even improve upon his ridiculous 2015 campaign he put up before last year's disappointing performance.

Brantley went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Astros.

He now has a 10-game hitting streak, over which Brantley is batting .381 (16-for-42) with four homers, nine RBI, 11 runs and two steals. After a lost 2016, the 29-year-old looks completely healthy and back in top form.

Manager Brad Ausmus reiterated Wednesday that he believes Cabrera (groin) will be ready to be activated from the DL on May 2, when first eligible, the Detroit News' Chris McCosky reports.

This has been the theme throughout Cabrera's stay on the DL, and his status continues to trend upward. He did infield drills Wednesday. In the meantime, John Hicks is starting at first base and hitting sixth against lefty James Paxton.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports.

Though the Mariners are without two key position players Wednesday in Mitch Haniger (oblique) and Kyle Seager (hip), manager Scott Servais is reluctant to expose Vogelbach to left-handed pitching, so the rookie will sit with southpaw Daniel Norris on the bump for the Tigers. Danny Valencia, who occupies the smaller side of a platoon with Vogelbach, will draw the start at first base and bat sixth in the order.

Soler (oblique) is 4-for-17 with two home runs, four RBI and a 2:5 BB:K through five rehab games with Triple-A Omaha.

Soler hit his second homer with Omaha on Tuesday, a solo shot in the first inning off Odrisamer Despaigne. Manager Ned Yost did not offer up a possible return date for Soler when asked Tuesday, according to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, but it would not be a surprise if the team was to activate Soler this weekend or early next week. The Royals could use a jolt on offense, as they currently rank dead last in the majors in runs scored (52).