MLB Player News

Cespedes is batting third and playing left field Saturday against the Marlins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Cepsedes is back in the lineup for the Mets after taking a seat with the flu Friday. He'll look to pick up right where he left off, as the 31-year-old was 7-for-14 with five home runs and nine RBI in the three games before his day off.

Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

Carpenter opened the scoring on the night with a 421-foot shot to right in the first off Masahiro Tanaka, giving the Cardinals the early 2-0 lead. While his average sits at a pedestrian .219, the 31-year-old infielder has reached safely in five straight and knocked in three runs over the last two contests.

Belt is not in the lineup Saturday against Colorado, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Belt has notched three home runs and seven RBI thus far, but he's hitting just .191 through his first 47 at-bats. He'll get the day off Saturday as the Giants go with Conor Gillaspie at first base.

Miller is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Red Sox.

Daniel Robertson will take over at second base in place of Miller with the Rays facing the left-handed Chris Sale. Miller has struggled against both righties and lefties on the season, slashing .205/.326/.359 with 17 strikeouts in 39 at-bats, although he did produce a 3-for-4 effort Friday that included a triple and his first home run of the season. He could be out of the lineup again Sunday with southpaw Drew Pomeranz taking the hill for Boston.

Canha was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Saturday.

Jaff Decker was called up to take Canha's roster spot after Canha's tough start to the season. Though Canha possesses valuable defensive versatility, his .105/.150/.158 slash line made it increasingly difficult to warrant fitting him into the lineup. He'll head down to Triple-A for more regular playing time in hopes that he can regain his form at the plate.

McCutchen is batting .275/.370/.375 in 40 career at-bats against Saturday starter Jake Arrieta.

Arrieta has faced McCutchen more times than any other batter in the majors. The outfielder is seeing fewer fastballs (50.6 percent) than last season (53.8) and more changeups (13.6 versus 10.4). He holds a league-average .100 ISO and a modest five-game hitting streak.

Cespedes was held out of Friday's lineup due to the flu, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

He was able to play through the illness Thursday and homered twice in the extra-inning win, but Cespedes needed a break after that huge effort. Consider him day-to-day, but it seems likely that he'll be able to suit up Saturday.

Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, his second of the season, and walked twice in Friday's triumph over Cleveland.

Cleveland's starter, Trevor Bauer, was evading damage through four innings before Cabrera opened the flood gates. His three-run blast in the fifth frame gave the slugger homers on back-to-back nights. The deep fly also earned Cabrera his 1,557 career RBI, pushing him past Willie McCovey and into 44th in MLB history.

Winker could be optioned back to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The Reds are saying that Winker was just brought up to fill out the bench for a couple days -- Winker is out of the lineup Friday against the Brewers after being called up. A roster spot will be needed for Sal Romano, Sunday's starter against Milwaukee, and it's possible Winker loses his spot as manager Bryan Price has been adamant that his starting outfield is set with Adam Duvall, Billy Hamilton and Scott Schebler. It seems inevitable that Winker will replace Schebler in the regular lineup eventually, but it may not happen right away.

Stanton is not in the Marlins' lineup Friday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

This looks to be a simple day off for the slugger, allowing for Ichiro Suzuki to get the start in right field. Stanton is off to a solid start on the season, slashing .270/.349/.459 with two home runs through nine games.