MLB Player News

Belt is out of the lineup for Saturday's matchup with the Cubs.

Buster Posey will slide over to first base as a means of giving Belt the day off. Belt is 0-for-6 in his career versus Jon Lester, so albeit a small sample size, the day off can be considered well-timed. Expect him to return to the lineup Sunday.

McCutchen is not in the lineup Saturday against the Rockies.

McCutchen will get a rare day off as the Pirates go up against Colorado right-hander Tyler Chatwood. Starling Marte will get the nod in center field, while Matt Joyce starts in right and Gregory Polanco starts in left.

Ozuna launched his eighth home run of the year, a solo shot, in Friday's loss to the Nationals.

Batting a robust .386 with five home runs in May, Ozuna has been carrying the Marlins' offense for a couple of weeks. He remains one of the hotter hitters in the league and is now slashing .301/.348/.529 with 24 runs scored and 22 RBI over 153 at-bats.

Turner went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk Friday against the Padres.

Turner's second home run gave the Dodgers a one-run lead in the eighth inning of a game they'd go on to lose. He's only collected four hits in his last 28 at-bats and is slashing just .217/.314/.350.

Soler went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs Friday against the Giants.

Soler's third blast added a run in the eighth inning and gave the Cubs a six-run lead in an easy win. He now has a modest three-game hitting streak that has raised his batting average to the .200 mark for the first time in more than a month.

Cabrera belted two home runs to drive in three runs in Friday's loss to the Rays. He now has eight on the season and has gotten at least one hit in each of his last six games.

The first home run traveled 364 feet to right field and the second was a 431-foot monster that hit the TV tower in dead centerfield. It was just Miggy's second multi-home fun game of the season and first since late April. But Cabrera's been on fire in the last week, going 11-for-24 with four dingers and eight RBI and raising his OPS nearly 100 points to .896.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Padres.

He will sit in favor of Trayce Thompson in center field with Christian Friedrich due up for San Diego, as is typical whenever the Dodgers face a lefty. Pederson has logged all of 14 at-bats against southpaws so far this season, with his lone hit against a left-hander going for a home run.

The addition of Jimmy Paredes, who was picked up off waivers from Baltimore, is likely to reduce Goins' role with the Blue Jays, the Toronto Star reports.

He has already been ceding more playing time to Darwin Barney, but this could signify the end is near for Goins. The middle infielder is hitting just .155 through 110 at-bats, and Goins is facing the possibility of a trip to the minors once Devon Travis (shoulder) returns from the DL.

Carpenter went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, six RBI and two runs against the Rockies on Thursday.

No, this game wasn't played in Coors Field, but you could be forgiven for suspecting that the Rockies brought the thin air with them. Carpenter's average is still lingering at a career-low .259, but that's the only mark against him -- after all, he's sustaining last year's power outburst while refining his plate discipline back to its pre-2015 level.

Buxton (back) is expected to return to the lineup at Triple-A Rochester on Friday, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

A bout of back spasms has kept Buxton off the field for close to a week, but it sounds like the discomfort has subsided to a large extent. Buxton has responded well to his demotion, slashing .301/.356/.494 with three homers in 20 games with Rochester, but his 1:7 BB:K in his last seven games with the affiliate suggests the approach could still use some work.