MLB Player News

Bell went 2-for-4 against St. Louis on Friday, lifting his season batting average to .300.

He also made a key defensive play to help keep the Cards from scoring. Bell ranks eighth in baseball with an average exit velocity of 94.4 mph. He's hit nine homers, something that took him until Sept. 7 to accomplish last year. In fact, the first baseman didn't collect his ninth homer until the last day of May during his 26-homer rookie campaign in 2017. Provided he can stay healthy, the switch hitter is on course to set career highs across the board.

Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 in a loss to the Pirates on Friday.

Goldschmidt accomplished the relatively unlikely feat of generating a second consecutive 3-for-5 performance, a two-game surge that's already served to raise his season average 23 points to .263. The veteran's mini-breakout was a long time coming, as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports Goldschmidt's second-inning run-scoring single Thursday snapped a run of 60 straight plate appearances without an RBI and his ground-rule double later in that contest ended a 13-game stretch without an extra-base hit. Part of the slugger's problems this season have stemmed in a drop in solid contact, with Langosch also relaying that prior to Thursday, his barrel rate (13.0 percent), average exit velocity (89.4 mph) and hard-contact rate (38.9 percent) were all down as compared to 2018.

Votto went 0-for-2 but drew two walks and scored a run in Friday's win over the Giants. He's hitting .206/.333/.333 in 150 plate appearances so far this season, despite hitting the ball with the same exit velocity as he has in the last two seasons, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Votto's hard-hit rate is actually up to 36.1 percent, but he's also striking out 23.4 percent of the time, well above his previous rates. He had two hard-hit balls in the no-hitter by Mike Fiers earlier in the week, including a possible home run stolen by Ramon Laureano. "I really like how I've swung the bat in May, despite getting very few results," he said. "Sometimes that's how the luck goes. I felt I swung the bat very poorly at the very beginning of the year. I started transitioning to what I feel is an everyday, repeatable approach."

Cooper (hand) will take his rehab assignment to Triple-A New Orleans on Saturday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Cooper began his minor-league stint with High-A Jupiter on Wednesday, and he's evidently feeling healthy enough to advance to a higher level of competition. A concrete timetable for his return has yet to be revealed, but it would appear as though he's closing in on his activation from the injured list.

Solano started at the keystone Thursday, going 1-for-3 with an RBI in a 12-11 loss to the Rockies.

Solano appears to have stepped right into the the role Yangervis Solarte occupied prior to his release, starting against southpaws and making most of those appearances at second base. The 31-year-old slashed .322/.392/.437 over 97 plate appearances with Triple-A Sacramento prior to his callup, but he has shown little to no power or speed throughout his career, leaving him well off the fantasy radar.

Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's rout of the Pirates.

Goldschmidt was a key contributor in the Cardinals' offensive barrage that produced 16 hits and 17 runs. Much like last season, the talented first baseman has gotten off to a slow start at the plate but has still managed to knock nine homers and drive in 21 runs on the year. Of course, Goldschmidt's second-half surge and subsequent sixth-place finish in NL MVP voting in 2018 bodes well for his outlook going forward this season.

Rizzo went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Marlins.

Rizzo took Trevor Richards deep in the fifth inning to record his 10th home run of the season. After a relatively slow start to the season from a power perspective, he now has 10 extra-base hits -- including six homers -- across his last 11 games, boosting his slugging percentage to .557 for the season. He's also provided excellent counting stats, ranking in the top 10 in the National League in RBI.

Smith was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.

Smith will provide the Mets with an extra bench bat for the time being while Steven Matz, who was sent to the injured list in a corresponding move, nurses a nerve issue in his left forearm. In 29 appearances for the Mets this season, the lefty-swinging Smith owns a .333/.459/.400 triple slash with a 6:7 BB:K in 37 plate appearances.

Votto is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

Votto will get a rest for the matinee game after playing all 13 innings of Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics. During that contest, Votto went 0-for-5 with a walk, dropping his season line to .210/.324/.339. While Votto is still drawing free passes at an elite clip (13.3 percent), his power has tailed off even further after he managed a lowly .419 slugging percentage in 2018. Votto's decline in that area has been especially troubling with the league-wide home-run rate up by a considerable margin this season.

Bell went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 9-6 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

The Pirates' first baseman continued his strong start and did it in impressive fashion Wednesday afternoon, absolutely crushing a bomb into the Allegheny River. Bell already has nine homers, which is only three shy of his total from last season. He is hitting .295 with 23 extra-base hits, 27 RBI and 22 runs in 122 at-bats.