MLB Player News

Bell is out of the lineup Wednesday against the White Sox.

With a lefty (Hector Santiago) on the mound for Chicago and the Pirates playing a day game after a night game, Pittsburgh skipper Clint Hurdle decided it was a good time to give the lefty-hitting Bell a breather. Jose Osuna will take over at first base and hit cleanup Wednesday.

Bell went 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBI and a run scored Tuesday against the White Sox.

Bell got off to a slow start this season but seems to finally be heating up. He held a .232 average at the end up April but has worked that figure up to a more respectable .258 mark after Tuesday's two-hit performance. Through 12 games in May, the first baseman is hitting .333 (13-for-39) with four doubles, two homers and eight RBI.

Walker was recalled from Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.

Walker will make his way back to the majors following A.J. Pollock's placement on the 10-day disabled list with a left thumb fracture. Walker went 2-for-15 with a home run in his numerous pinch-hit appearances earlier this season. He'll maintain a reserve role again following his promotion.

Votto (back) is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Giants.

Votto left Monday's game with back tightness, and while the issue isn't considered serious, he'll miss at least one start. Adam Duvall will start at first base in his place Tuesday.

Votto, who left Monday's game with back tightness, might get Tuesday off as well, although the injury is not considered serious, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Votto let manager Jim Riggleman know before the game that he was dealing with some nagging discomfort in his back, but convinced the skipper to put him in the lineup. He hit a single that was misplayed by the Giants' left fielder, and Votto looked really uncomfortable jogging into second base, and the Reds got him out of there shortly thereafter. Adam Duvall replaced Votto at first base, and would likely get the start if the Reds opt to hold their star out of Tuesday's contest.

Votto was removed in the fourth inning of Monday's game against San Francisco with back tightness.

The Reds have not announced the reason for Votto's removal, but he appeared winded after a swing on a single to left and struggled to run to second base later in the inning. That sounds like it could be an oblique or other type of core injury, but we'll consider him day-to-day until the Reds explain the substitution. Votto was replaced at first base by Adam Duvall.

Santana went 2-for-3 with a walk, a homer and two runs scored Sunday against the Mets.

Santana doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning and scored the tying run after Nick Williams homered. He added a solo shot of his own in the eighth off of Jeurys Familia. The homer was Santana's seventh of the year and his fifth in nine games. He's been on fire over that stretch, hitting .324/.342/.892. His wRC+ finally sits at 100 after a very slow start to the season. Even during that slow start, however, Santana's batted-ball data was very encouraging, so this seems to be a case of his results finally starting to line up with how he's been hitting the ball.

Bour hit a pinch-hit three-run home run Sunday against the Braves.

Bour entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and launched his eighth home run of the season to cut the Marlins deficit to one. He had gone 4-for-24 over his past nine games prior to this home run, so maybe the day off will allow him to get back on track at the plate.

Votto went 1-for-3 with two walks, a two-run home run and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Dodgers.

He parked a Pat Venditte pitch over the right-field wall for his sixth home run of the season. All six of those homers have come in Votto's last 19 games (21 homerless to begin the campaign). The 34-year-old also chipped in the rare stolen base and now has his batting line up to .288/.413/.445. Expect that line to only continue to trend upward.

Smith was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following Sunday's game against the Phillies, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The Mets have an off-day Monday, and Jay Bruce is going to come off the paternity list prior to Tuesday's game, so sending Smith down now allows him to rejoin Las Vegas a day early. He went 0-for-1 and didn't get a start in two games with the big club. While Smith will be an option the next time the Mets need to summon a bench bat, Peter Alonso is on the verge of passing him on the organizational depth chart with his scorching performance at Double-A Binghamton.