MLB Player News

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.

Cooper (hand) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with High-A Jupiter on Wednesday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports

Cooper landed on the injured list over the weekend due to a left hand contusion, though his stay on the shelf was never expected to be a lengthy one, a notion supported by the fact that he's already been cleared to resume game action. The 28-year-old will be eligible to return May 11.

Walker is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Wilmer Flores will man first base in the series finale while Walker heads to the bench following a stretch of 14 consecutive starts. Though the 28-year-old has been a pleasant surprise for the Diamondbacks this season and maintains an excellent .943 OPS on the season, he's currently stuck in a bit of a home-run drought. He hasn't cleared the fence since April 23, though he has at least racked up eight doubles over that stretch.

Flores went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Rays.

Flores hit his second home run of the season in the ninth inning when the Diamondbacks mounted a futile rally already down by five runs. Much of his production has come in the last 10 games, a stretch in which he's had five multi-hit games. The infielder is slashing .414/.452/.690 with two homers and 10 RBI during his hot streak. Prior to that, Flores was hitting .203 with just two RBI over the first 22 games.

Alonso went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the Padres.

The rookie again displayed a flair for the dramatic, as his ninth-inning blast off Adam Warren broke open a 5-5 tie. Alonso has cooled down a little, but he's still slashing .284/.362/.604 with 11 homers and 31 RBI through his first 36 big-league games.

France went 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Mets.

He took Noah Syndergaard deep in the fourth inning for his first career big-league homer. France is now slashing .241/.324/.448 through 12 games since his promotion, a performance that may not be good enough to keep him in the majors once Fernando Tatis Jr. (hamstring) returns from the IL at the end of the week.

Hoskins went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and three runs scored Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Hoskins had already had a productive night by doubling and scoring two runs when he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning. However, he capped off his performance by lifting his 11th home run of the season over the left-field fence to give the Phillies an 11-1 lead. Hoskins continues to swing a hot bat, pairing a .302/.425/.651 line with elite power and counting stat production in the early going.

The Giants plan to call up Solano from Triple-A Sacramento ahead of Tuesday's game against the Rockies, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Along with Solano, the Giants are planning on calling outfielder Mac Williamson up from Sacramento prior to the three-game series in Colorado. Neither Solano nor Williamson possess spots on the 40-man roster, so the Giants will have to remove two players from the roster to facilitate their promotions. The 31-year-old Solano has seen time at second base, third base and shortstop this season and is hitting .322/.392/.437 across 97 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League. He'll likely serve as a utility man while he's up with the Giants.