MLB Player News

McCutchen is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Brewers.

McCutchen has gone deep in back-to-back contests, but he'll receive a day of rest Wednesday. Bryan Reynolds will get a turn as the Pirates' designated hitter, while Connor Joe and Edward Olivares will occupy the outfield corners.

Martinez (back) is on track to be added to the Mets' 26-man active roster ahead of Friday's game versus the Cardinals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Martinez is slated to play what is expected to be a final game with Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. As long as he comes out of it with no issues, he should serve as the Mets' designated hitter Friday. Martinez went to the minors to knock off some rust after signing with the Mets late in spring training and had to take a break from game action briefly due to a minor back problem, but he's healthy now and is nearing his 2024 debut with the big club. According to a Mike Puma of the New York Post, manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday that he plans to slot Martinez directly behind cleanup batter Pete Alonso as the Mets' No. 5 hitter once he's activated.

Stewart is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Southpaw Blake Snell is on the hill for the Giants, so the left-handed-hitting Stewart will begin Wednesday's game on the bench. Starling Marte will serve as the Mets' designated hitter in Stewart's stead, and with J.D. Martinez potentially set to report to the big club this weekend, Stewart's time as New York's primary DH may have already come to an end.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Washington.

Ohtani capped the scoring in the contest with a 450-foot solo blast to right-center field. Per MLB.com, the homer was hit at 118.7 mph, making it the hardest-hit ball in the majors so far this season. It also extended Ohtani's hitting streak to eight games, during which he is slashing .414/.514/.655 with two long balls, four RBI, seven runs, three steals and a 6:6 BB:K.

Burleson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

While his path to regular playing time against right-handed pitching has opened up a bit with Jordan Walker getting optioned to Triple-A Memphis earlier Wednesday, the lefty-hitting Burleson is still projected to sit regularly against lefties. Burleson's absence from the lineup Wednesday thus comes as little surprise with southpaw Jordan Montgomery on the hill for Arizona.

Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates.

Sanchez was responsible for the Brewers' lone run Tuesday with a 432-foot blast off Bailey Falter to lead off the eighth inning. It's the second long ball of the year for Sanchez -- the 31-year-old backstop has primarily served as a bench option in the early going, backing up William Contreras with Rhys Hoskins serving as Milwaukee's primary DH. Sanchez is slashing just .167/.211/.361 with three RBI and two runs scored through his first 38 plate appearances.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday against the Brewers.

McCutchen has hit atop the Pirates' order in consecutive games and has led off each contest with a homer. He now has three long balls on the season and is potentially getting out of a slump that resulted in him hitting just .173 across his first 14 games of the campaign. It's unclear whether McCutchen has taken over leadoff duties for good, but the Pirates have shifted Oneil Cruz down the lineup as a result.

Rockies manager Bud Black said Tuesday that Bryant (back) is not participating in baseball activities and won't be reinstated from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Wednesday, Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com reports.

There apparently isn't much concern about the back strain being a serious issue since Bryant hasn't been sent for medical imaging, but the lower-back strain will still keep him sidelined for the near future. The 32-year-old doesn't have an official timeline for his return and should be considered out indefinitely until he resumes baseball activities.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that Carpenter received a platelet-rich plasma injection for his strained right oblique, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The Cardinals will have Carpenter rest for the next three days to allow the injection to take effect. If all goes well, Carpenter will resume hitting on the field later this week, and then face a high-velocity pitching machine before he starts getting at-bats in a game setting. Heading into the season, Carpenter didn't look as though he would be in store for much of a role before being placed on the 10-day injured list April 4, but he could have an opportunity to see reps at designated hitter if Nolan Gorman (.610 OPS, 38.1 percent strikeout rate in 84 plate appearances) and Alec Burleson (.549 OPS in 52 plate appearances) fail to show improvement in the weeks to come.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's win over Milwaukee.

McCutchen received his first start in the leadoff spot Monday night and made the most of it. He opened with a 414-foot home run off Joe Ross, spurring the Pirates to victory. The 37-year-old added two singles later in the game for his first three-hit effort of the season. McCutchen has started 10 of the last 13 games, batting .231 (9-for-39) with two homers, seven runs and four RBI.