MLB Player News

Pederson will be on the bench against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on Saturday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Pederson seldom starts against southpaws, so it's no surprise to see him on the bench Saturday along with the rest of the Giants' lefties. Austin Slater will serve as the designated hitter.

Garver will hit the bench Saturday against Seattle.

Garver hasn't caught a game since Sept. 2 but has served as the designated hitter for all but two games since that date. After a pair of hitless outings, he's seemingly due for a rest, so Robbie Grossman will take his spot in the lineup.

Ford will hit the bench against lefty Andrew Heaney and the Rangers on Saturday.

Ford hasn't started once against a southpaw all season, and he won't get to break that trend on the penultimate day of the regular season. Sam Haggerty will handle designated hitter duties in his absence.

Stanton remains on the bench for Saturday's game against the Royals, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

With the Yankees eliminated from the playoffs, the team is prioritizing giving at-bats to younger players, sitting the 33-year-old Stanton twice in a row. Even if the Yankees did have something to play for, they might not want to give everyday at-bats to a player who's hit .191/.275/.420 in 101 games this season. His 89 wRC+ sets a career low by a wide margin over his 116 wRC+ from last season and doesn't bode well for him heading into his age-34 campaign.

Vientos will be on the bench for the first half of Saturday's doubleheader against the Phillies, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Down the stretch of a lost season, Vientos has been given plenty of opportunities to stake his claim for a significant role next season, starting 18 consecutive games prior to this one. He homered five times over that stretch, but his .224/.257/.448 slash line (90 wRC+) wasn't exactly convincing. Brett Baty will be the designated hitter for the afternoon contest.

Belt will sit Saturday against the Rays.

Belt has homered on back-to-back days but will nonetheless head to the bench, potentially because the Blue Jays fear the Rays could turn to a lefty after opener Shawn Armstrong. George Springer will rest his legs as the designated hitter, with Cavan Biggio starting in right field.

Belt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 11-4 win over the Rays.

The veteran first baseman went yard for the second straight game, launching his 18th homer of the year in the fourth inning off Erasmo Ramirez. Belt missed most of September due to a stomach bug and back trouble, but he looks 100 percent as the Jays close in on a wild-card berth, going 4-for-14 in four games since returning to the lineup with three extra-base hits and four RBI.

Morel went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a triple and a run scored in Friday's loss to the Brewers.

Morel was productive from the No. 8 spot in the lineup, but the Cubs as a whole mustered only six hits and three runs in the defeat. The 24-year-old has recorded 44 extra-base hits among his 92 total hits this year, including 25 home runs, boosting his OPS to a solid .809. He should have a few more chances to contribute before the regular season wraps up.

Martinez went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Friday's 6-2 win over the Giants.

Martinez's power binge continues -- he's homered seven times over his last 11 contests to get to 33 long balls for the season. His blast Friday gave the Dodgers some added insurance in the sixth inning. The designated hitter is hitting .400 (16-for-40) during his surge, a stretch that has raised his batting average on the year from .261 to .274 and his OPS from .852 to .906. He's added 103 RBI, 61 runs scored, 27 doubles, a stolen base and two triples through 111 contests.

The Rockies signed Blackmon to a one-year contract extension Friday, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Blackmon had been scheduled to become a free agent this winter at age 37, but he'll stay in Colorado for what will be his 14th major-league season. He was selected by the Rockies in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech and has tallied 1,688 career big-league hits, all in the purple and black. The new one-year deal carries a $13 million guarantee with another $2 million available in performance-based incentives, per Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com.