MLB Player News

Harper went 1-for-4 with one run scored and one steal in Wednesday's loss to San Francisco.

Harper and Nick Castellanos pulled off a double steal in the fourth inning. Harper stole a career-high 21 bases back in 2016. Despite the late start to 2023, Harper could push for 15 or so steals again, as he already has two in 13 games.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Ramirez filled in at first base for Yandy Diaz (groin) in Tuesday's 8-5 win, but Isaac Paredes will replace Diaz in the second game of the series. Though he's holding down a robust .925 OPS for the season, Ramirez is still expected to find himself out of the lineup once or twice per week due to the Rays' wealth of options in the corner infield, outfield and at designated hitter.

Stanton (hamstring) is close to beginning a rehab assignment, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Stanton is a month into a projected 4-6 week timetable with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and appears to have progressed to the point that rehab games are just around the corner. He has been getting work in the outfield while rehabbing and is expected to be used some in the field in addition to designated hitter once he's ready to return.

Jimenez (abdomen) said Wednesday that he hopes to return from the 10-day injured list by the end of next week, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Jimenez was cleared to run the bases Tuesday and will incorporate more and more baseball activities in the coming days before presumably heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment by early next week. He underwent an emergency appendectomy May 6 and had originally been expected to miss more than a month.

Winker is out of the lineup Wednesday versus the Cardinals.

Winker was on the bench Tuesday with the Cardinals throwing left-hander Jordan Montgomery and he'll remain there Wednesday with young southpaw Matthew Liberatore set to toe the slab. William Contreras is taking a turn as the DH and Victor Caratini is catching.

The Nationals will place Meneses on the paternity list Wednesday, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Meneses will miss at least one and as many as three games to be with his wife as she gives birth to the couple's child. Utility man Jake Alu will be called up from Triple-A Rochester to take Meneses' spot on the 26-man active roster.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

He'll remain on the bench for the fourth game in a row, with each of the lefty-hitting Vogelbach's absences coming against left-handed pitching. Vogelbach has held a strong-side platoon role at designated hitter for most of the season, but he could face a threat for work against right-handed pitching with the Mets bringing aboard power-hitting corner infielder Mark Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.

Baker, 26, leads all Triple-A hitters with 14 home runs and has a .302/.436/.669 slash line in 39 games for Memphis.

The rule for players like Baker who will provide zero or negative defensive value is that they need to hit a lot at every level on their path to the majors, and Baker failed in that respect last year at Triple-A, slashing .228/.288/.394 in 124 games. However, he's been so good this season that he can't be completely written off as a Quadruple-A hitter. His 40 percent hard-hit rate and 11.6 percent soft-hit rate are excellent marks, and his 0.80 BB/K is the best ratio of his career. Even so, Baker is stuck behind Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson on the organizational depth chart at first base and designated hitter for now.

The Mets recalled Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.

Vientos earned the promotion by putting together a 1.104 OPS with 13 home runs across 166 plate appearances at Syracuse. He might initially only start against lefties but could certainly play his way into an everyday role. Vientos is included in the starting nine against a lefty (Josh Fleming) in Wednesday's game against the Rays, manning third base and batting eighth while the lefty-hitting Brett Baty takes a seat.

Rooker went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, two walks and two runs in an extra-innings win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Rooker generated some impressive small-ball production as part of Oakland's 12-hit outburst. The 28-year-old has been an indisputable bright spot in a frequently sputtering Athletics offense, with Tuesday's busy night pushing his season slash line to an elite .304/.418/.624 across 153 plate appearances.