MLB Player News

McCutchen (ankle) is starting at designated hitter and batting third Monday against the Rockies.

McCutchen is back in the lineup after missing three games with an ankle issue. The 36-year-old has cooled off greatly in recent weeks, batting .140 with two homers, six RBI, six runs scored and 15 strikeouts over 43 at-bats in 12 games since April 20.

The Cubs recalled Morel from Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Morel forced the Cubs' hand by putting up a blistering .330/.425/.730 slash line with 11 home runs and four stolen bases over 29 games with Iowa. The 23-year-old should see fairly regular playing time while bouncing around in a super-utility role. Morel's contact issues have remained this season with a 30.6 percent strikeout rate at Iowa, but his potential to offer some power and speed while being eligible at multiple positions makes him a viable deep-league addition.

Belt went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Pirates.

Getting the start at first base in place of Vladimir Guerrero (wrist) and batting fifth, Belt put together his second straight multi-hit performance as he finally begins to look comfortable in a Blue Jays uniform. Over his last 10 games, the former Giant is batting .313 (10-for-32) with four doubles and a homer, although he also has 14 strikeouts during that stretch. If Guerrero's wrist continues to bother him, Belt figures to pick up more playing time in the short term, but at the very least he seems to be re-establishing himself as Toronto's top option at DH against right-handed pitching.

Vogelbach went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Rockies.

The lefty slugger took Daniel Bard deep in the seventh inning, but the Mets were down 11-5 at the time. It's only Vogelbach's second homer of the year, but he boasts what would be career highs with a .265 batting average and .398 OBP through 28 games as the team's regular DH against right-handed pitching.

Reyes was designated for assignment by the Royals on Monday.

Reyes was optioned to Triple-A Omaha last week and now is off the 40-man roster in order to make room for trade acquisition James McArthur. He batted just .186/.231/.288 with a 36.9 percent strikeout rate during his time with the Royals and, while Reyes is still just 27, his big-league career looks to be at a crossroads.

Rooker went 0-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Royals.

Rooker reached after being hit by a pitch in the fourth. He would end up stealing second and would score in the frame. The 28-year-old was kept quiet otherwise but has been a fantasy darling so far this season, slashing .319/.434/.692 with 10 homers, 26 RBI, 17 runs and a 17:27 BB:K over 113 plate appearances. One small concern is that he's struck out multiple times in three straight games.

Meneses went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI and two total runs scored in Sunday's 9-8 win over the Diamondbacks.

Meneses helped the Nationals stay within striking distance with an RBI single in the seventh inning. He made a bigger impact in his next at-bat, swatting a go-ahead, three-run homer that gave Washington a lead that would stick after Hunter Harvey converted the save. Meneses has gone 13-for-38 (.342) over his last nine contests, but 12 of those hits have been singles. For the season, he's slashing .277/.301/.362 with two homers, 14 RBI, 13 runs scored and six doubles through 33 games. He's hitting reasonably well, but his numbers are a far cry from the .324/.367/.563 slash line he had in a 56-game sample last year.

Manager Dave Roberts said Martinez (back) will face live pitching at the Dodgers' spring facility in Arizona this week, and the slugger should be back in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Padres, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

It was previously reported the 35-year-old lined up to return during the three-game set in Milwaukee that begins Monday, but it now appears he's set to be activated Friday. Given Martinez has exclusively served as a designated hitter over the past two seasons, it's not a major surprise he's expected to return without requiring a minor-league rehab assignment.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Carpenter will sit for the second time in San Diego's past three games with lefty Julio Urias pitching for Los Angeles. Nelson Cruz will bat fifth as the designated hitter.

The White Sox placed Jimenez (appendix) on the 10-day injured list Sunday.

Jimenez underwent an emergency appendectomy in Cincinnati on Saturday, but since the White Sox didn't immediately have a player available to replace him on the 26-man active roster that day, the team waited until Sunday to officially move him to the IL. Catcher Carlos Perez will move up from Triple-A Charlotte to take the spot of Jimenez, who is expected to require 4-to-6 weeks of recovery time.