MLB Player News

McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a go-ahead two-run home run in the 10th inning of Saturday's victory over St. Louis.

With the score tied at 3-3 in the 10th, McCutchen broke the knot with a two-run shot off Jordan Hicks. The 36-year-old outfielder has gone deep twice in his return season to the Bucs while driving in six runs over 14 games to go along with three stolen bases. It's a small sample, but after struggling to a .237 average and .700 OPS with the Brewers in 2022, it's encouraging to see McCutchen get off to a strong start in 2023.

Brantley (shoulder) took live batting practice Friday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brantley continues to ramp up into baseball activities as he nears the end of his recovery from right shoulder labrum repair surgery last August. He could soon begin taking at-bats in simulated games and is on track to join the Astros around the first week of May.

Winker (illness) is back in the starting lineup Saturday against the Padres.

Winker will serve as the Brewers' designated hitter and bat second after missing five straight games because of an illness. He's tallied seven RBI in eight games when healthy this year.

Soler (back) remains out of the lineup Saturday versus the Diamondbacks.

Soler is considered day-to-day with lower-back tightness. Bryan De La Cruz, Jazz Chisholm and Jesus Sanchez will start across the outfield. Avisail Garcia is taking a turn as the designated hitter.

Choi was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to April 14, with a left Achilles strain.

It was originally labeled as posterior ankle discomfort, but further testing has revealed the Achilles strain. There is no timetable for Cjoi's return. Tucupita Marcano is up from Triple-A Indianapolis to provide the Pirates with some infield depth.

Pederson was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to April 12, with right wrist inflammation, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The writing was on the wall that Pederson would need an extended period of rest after he received a cortisone shot Wednesday for this lingering wrist issue. Matt Beaty is up from Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move.

Belt is out of the lineup Saturday against the Rays.

Belt has gotten it going a bit after a dreadful start to the season, going 4-for-10 with two doubles and an RBI over his last three games. He'll start out on the bench Saturday with Tampa Bay lining up a bullpen game. Alejandro Kirk is the designated hitter and Danny Jansen is catching Saturday.

Rooker went 2-for-5 with an RBI infield single and a solo home run in a loss to the Mets on Friday.

Rooker's long-ball barrage continued with a 401-foot shot to center field in the sixth inning that served as his fourth homer in the last three games. The 28-year-old journeyman now boasts a five-game hitting streak as well, one that includes four consecutive two-hit efforts and has pushed his early slash line to a stellar .346/.379/.808 across 29 plate appearances.

Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Friday against the Rangers.

Alvarez took Martin Perez deep in the third inning to tally his fourth homer of the season. Alvarez has also uncharacteristically punched out three times in consecutive games, bringing his strikeout rate to an inflated 25.9 percent clip. Even so, it's difficult to argue with his production early this season, as he's hitting .295 with 17 RBI and nine runs scored across 54 plate appearances.

Pederson got a cortisone shot Wednesday and could land on the injured list with a right wrist injury, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

It sounds like he's trying to avoid an IL stint, hence the injection, but Pederson is probably a little worse than day-to-day at the moment. The 30-year-old outfielder is slashing .242/.350/.545 with two home runs, three runs and nine RBI in 10 games.