MLB Player News

France will start at third base and bat fifth Thursday against the Braves.

Fernando Tatis Jr.'s (hamstring) move to the injured list earlier this week has resulted in Manny Machado taking over as the everyday shortstop, leaving the hot corner open for France. After amassing an incredible 1.407 OPS at Triple-A El Paso prior to being promoted last week, France has yet to get going in the majors, recording only two hits in 13 at-bats. Though France will be making his third start in a row Thursday, he may need to catch fire again quickly in order to ensure he sticks in an everyday role for the duration of Tatis' absence.

Alonso is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Reds.

Alonso will rest in the series finale in favor of Dominic Smith, who will assume the former's usual duties at first base and as the Mets' No. 2 hitter. The rookie is currently stuck in the first slump of his young career, as he's reached base at just a .265 clip while homering once and striking out 11 times over the last eight games.

Hoskins went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against Detroit.

Hoskins took Zac Reininger deep in the eighth inning to add an insurance run to the Phillies' lead. It was his ninth homer of the season and third in his past seven games. Though power is up around the league, Hoskins continues to stand out with his bat, racking up a 1.011 OPS across 132 plate appearances this season.

Rizzo went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI in Wednesday's 11-0 win over the Mariners.

Rizzo now has seven home runs and 20 RBI this season, putting him on pace for another 30-home run, 100-RBI campaign. The slugger's .231 batting average is still fairly low for his standards, though there's plenty of time for that number to rise.

Cooper won't play Wednesday after getting hit in the left hand by a pitch on Tuesday, but he could be back in action for the weekend series against the Braves, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Cooper suffered the injury on his first day back from a month-long absence due to a calf strain. X-rays came back negative, but he'll sit for at least one day with a bruise.

Flores is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees.

Flores will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale despite going 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run homer in Tuesday's 3-1 win. Ketel Marte is starting at the keystone in his place, with Jarrod Dyson getting the start in center field.

Bell went 2-for-5 with a walk and a two-run double against the Rangers on Tuesday.

He ranks 10th in the major leagues with an average exit velocity of 94.2 mph -- he finished 97th with an average exit velocity of 90 mph in 2018. Bell leads Pittsburgh in runs (16), doubles (eight), homers (six) and RBI (21). The switch hitter's hitting both left-handed pitching (.870 OPS) and righties (.990 OPS) and is on track to help make fantasy owners forget about his disappointing 2018 campaign.

Flores went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Yankees.

His second-inning solo shot off CC Sabathia was Flores' first homer as a Diamondback. His .241/.299/.329 slash line through 26 games is nothing special, but Flores should remain in the lineup on a regular basis, and Tuesday's long ball might have been what he needed to get going at the plate.

Cooper was diagnosed with a left hand bruise as X-rays came back negative after he was hit by a pitch Tuesday, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Cooper just spent a month on the injured list with a calf strain and it appeared as though a quick return to the IL could be in store after he was plunked during his second plate appearance. Thankfully the 28-year-old only suffered the bruise and is considered day-to-day.

Bohm was promoted to High-A Clearwater on Tuesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

Last season's third overall pick made Low-A look easy, as he recorded an excellent .367/.441/.595 line in 22 games for Lakewood. For a power-over-hit prospect, it's particularly encouraging to see that he struck out just 15.1 percent of the time, building on his 15.7 percent strikeout rate in 29 games for short-season Williamsport at the end of last year. If he handles High-A as well as he handled Low-A, expect him to move to Double-A Reading before the end of the year.