MLB Player News
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Nate Lowe 1B | CIN
Rays' Nate Lowe: Promotion official
The Rays confirmed Monday that Lowe's contract has been selected from Triple-A Durham ahead of Tampa Bay's series opener against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 23-year-old is expected to step in immediately as the Rays' everyday first baseman, though it's possible the team limits his exposure to left-handed pitching initially. In any case, Lowe's combination of power and on-base skills makes him an intriguing pickup in deeper mixed leagues at the very least, and potentially worth a look in formats shallower than that. The Rays optioned Christian Arroyo to Triple-A Durham to clear a spot for Lowe on the active roster, but Tampa Bay has yet to announce a corresponding transaction to open up a 40-man spot for the prospect.
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Nate Lowe 1B | CIN
Rays' Nate Lowe: Getting call to majors
The Rays plan to promote Lowe from Triple-A Durham prior to Monday's game against the Royals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Though the Rays have performed well offensively even while contending with major injuries to Austin Meadows (thumb) and Joey Wendle (wrist), the team was apparently motivated to add another power bat into the mix in Lowe, especially with a number of matchups with right-handed starting pitchers on tap. The 23-year-old Lowe was certainly deserving of the callup from a performance standpoint, as he slashed an impressive .300/.438/.543 at Durham while walking nearly as often (19.5 percent) as he struck out (21.3 percent). His power upside and improved on-base skills make him worthy of immediate attention in deeper mixed leagues, though he may need to hold his own right away with the Rays to ensure he has an everyday role for the balance of the season. Brandon Lowe, Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Diaz all loom as options at first base once the Rays reclaim some health.
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Carlos Santana 1B | ARI
Indians' Carlos Santana: Clocks solo homer
Santana went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Sunday's 4-1 loss to Houston.
Santana took Houston starter Wade Miley deep in the fourth inning to open the game's scoring, but it proved to be Cleveland's lone run of the contest. He's just 2-for-27 over the last seven games but still owns a .300 average in 90 at-bats on the year.
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Asdrubal Cabrera 1B | CIN
Rangers' Asdrubal Cabrera: Expected to play Tuesday
Cabrera (calf) is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.
The Rangers said the same thing regarding Cabrera's availability Sunday, but they opted to sit him for a third straight game, while saying the infielder will not be placed on the injured list. "He could play today if we had to, but with a day game, why risk it?" manager Chris Woodward said. "We have a day off tomorrow. Moving forward it made sense not to push it." With a day off Monday, Cabrera will have four days off before Tuesday's game.
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Luke Voit 1B | NYM
Yankees' Luke Voit: Singles three times
Voit went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and a walk in Sunday's 11-5 win over the Giants.
Voit is locked-in, collecting three hits in three of the last four games, during which his average has shot up from .236 to .283. The 28-year-old slugger has 11 extra-base hits and 25 RBI on the year.
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Yandy Diaz 1B | TB
Rays' Yandy Diaz: Collects two extra-base hits
Diaz went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, two RBI and a run scored Sunday against the Red Sox.
Diaz remains hot at the dish, and he tripled home a pair of runs in the second inning to extend Tampa Bay's lead to four. The 27-year-old has delivered a base knock in seven of his team's past eight matchups, slugging three homers and driving in eight runs over that stretch. He'll look to keep it rolling heading into Monday's series opener against the Royals.
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Matt Olson 1B | ATL
Athletics' Matt Olson: Set to begin rehab assignment
Olson will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Olson took batting practice Friday and is now set to take the next step in the rehab process. Assuming everything goes well during his assignment, Olson appears to be on track to return in the middle of May as initially projected.
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Asdrubal Cabrera 1B | CIN
Rangers' Asdrubal Cabrera: Remains out of lineup Sunday
Cabrera (calf) is not in Sunday's lineup against the Mariners, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Cabrera was expected to rejoin the lineup Sunday, but that is not the case. The Rangers have Monday off, so his return should seemingly be expected Tuesday as the Rangers begin a series with the Pirates.
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Justin Bour 1B | SF
Angels' Justin Bour: Drops to eighth in order
Bour is batting eighth in the lineup Sunday against the Royals, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Bour has served primarily as the No.3 hitter for the Angels this season but has struggled at the dish. Through 84 plate appearances, he has hit just .176/.274/.297 with two home runs. Brian Goodwin gets bumped up to third in the lineup in his place.
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Brandon Dixon 1B | SD
Tigers' Brandon Dixon: Starting Sunday
Dixon is starting at first base and batting fifth in Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Dixon has been seeing fairly regular playing time since getting called up from Triple-A Toledo on April 18, and he's parlayed it into a .429/.467/.571 slash line across 14 at-bats. Dixon could be squeezed for time a bit whenever Christin Stewart (quadriceps) returns from the injured list, but the 27-year-old should still find his way into the lineup most days for the time being.