MLB Player News

Rizzo is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers.

Three of the Cubs' top left-handed bats in Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward will all be spectators for the Fourth of July matinee game with lefty Francisco Liriano on the bump for Detroit. The newly recalled Victor Caratini will draw the start at first base in place of Rizzo, who rested just once over the Cubs' previous 27 games.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's win over the Cardinals.

Goldschmidt tagged starter Jack Flaherty for a three-run shot -- his 19th homer of the year -- in the fifth inning to put the Diamondbacks up by two. It was Goldschmidt's second home run in three games, and the first baseman has now brought his slash line to .277/.385/.538 on the season. At the end of May, Goldschmidt was hitting .209/.326/.393 with seven home runs, so he's made remarkable strides to bring himself back to form. He's now tied with Milwaukee's Jesus Aguilar for most home runs among MLB first basemen.

Hiura has not played in a game since June 29 as he deals with a left thumb strain, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The good news here is the Brewers don't believe the injury to be severe and don't foresee a stint on the disabled list in Hiura's future. The 21-year-old has showed no signs of slowing down at the plate with a .322/.380/.511 slash line and 11 doubles in 24 games since being promoted to Double-A Biloxi in late May.

Cooper (wrist) is expected to be reinstated from the 60-day disabled list prior to the All-Star break, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. "Coop's almost like the young pitchers; we want to see what they're able to do," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Sunday. "We want to see what he can do over the course of the second half."

Mattingly suggested that Cooper, who cracked the Marlins' Opening Day lineup, would receive opportunities at first base and both corner-outfield spots once he completes his minor-league rehab assignment. The 27-year-old appeared in just four games for the Marlins before landing on the DL on April 5 with a sprained right wrist. Cooper is currently 10 games into his rehab assignment and seems to be progressing well, as he's hitting .367/.441/.500 during that stretch. Once reinstated, the right-handed-hitting Cooper could settle in as a platoon mate for Justin Bour or Derek Dietrich, who both bat from the left side.

Smith (wrist) will start at first base and bat seventh against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Smith had been kept out of the starting nine for the past few games while dealing with a sore wrist, though he was able to pinch hit during Sunday's tilt. Across 18 games with the Mets this year, he's hit .217/.250/.391 with one home run and one RBI.

Goldschmidt went 4-for-4 with an RBI in the Diamondbacks' 6-3 loss to the Cardinals on Monday.

Goldschmidt tallied nearly half of his team's nine hits on the night, with all going for singles except David Peralta's fourth-inning triple. The first baseman has fallen into a slight power outage of late with only three extra-base knocks in his last eight starts, but he's at least pacified fantasy owners with a .367 average over that span. Goldschmidt's season batting average has climbed 76 points since May 23, moving from .198 all the way to .274.

Walker was sent down to Triple-A Reno on Monday.

Walker will return to the minors after going 2-for-5 during his first big-league start Sunday. The 27-year-old will likely be back with Arizona later this summer, but was cast off the 25-man roster in order to make room for A.J. Pollock (thumb), who was activated from the 10-day DL in a corresponding move.

Bell is not in the lineup against the Dodgers on Monday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Bell will receive a day off following four straight starts, during which he went 5-for-15 with two RBI and one extra-base hit. In his place, David Freese will pick up a start at first base. Look for Bell to rejoin the starting nine Tuesday.

Walker started in left field and went 2-for-5 with a run scored Sunday in the Diamondbacks' 9-6 loss to the Giants.

Walker picked up just his 11th career start in his 44th game in the big leagues, with the Diamondbacks and Orioles having previously limited him largely to pinch-hitting duties during cups of coffee over the last four-plus seasons. Though he's best suited to play first base, Walker seems likely to pick up any future starts in the corner outfield so long as Paul Goldschmidt remains healthy. The 27-year-old boasts ample power -- as evidenced by the 479-foot tater he hit off Clayton Kershaw back on May 1 -- but his high-strikeout tendencies and lack of defensive prowess in the outfield figure to limit his opportunities while he's up with the big club.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-3 with two walks and a two-run home run Sunday against the Giants.

Goldschmidt took Pierce Johnson deep in the seventh inning to record his 18th home run of the season. He's in the midst of a small slump across his last 10 games -- he's gone 10-for-39 -- but has remained productive, recording two home runs, six runs scored and five RBI. After much consternation due to his early-season struggles at the dish, Goldschmidt is returning to his baselines in slugging percentage and OPS thanks to a scorching June at the plate.