MLB Player News

Walker is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.

Pavin Smith will start at first base as Walker takes a seat for the second day in a row. Walker is normally the everyday starter at first base, but manager Torey Lovullo is trying to get his two hottest hitters -- Smith and Josh Reddick -- in the lineup, so he sat Walker against a pair of right-handers Sunday and Monday.

Rizzo (back) is in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Padres after missing the previous six games.

Rizzo said earlier Tuesday that he expected to be back in the lineup, and now he's officially slated to bat third and play first base against the Friars.

Dalbec isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Astros.

Dalbec will be out of the lineup for a second straight game despite his two-hit effort Saturday. Danny Santana will start at first base and bat seventh.

Bell is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Braves, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Bell, who's hitting just .103 against lefty pitchers this season, sits against Atlanta's Max Fried. After a hot stretch that lasted nearly two weeks, the switch hitter is just 1-for-14 in his last five games. Ryan Zimmerman fills in at first base Tuesday.

Votto (thumb) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

This is fantastic news for the Reds, as they've been without their first baseman since he fractured his left thumb May 5. It's not entirely clear how long the Reds plan to have Votto spend with Louisville, but he seems likely to rejoin Cincinnati's lineup within a week's time. Manager David Bell said that Votto could rejoin the team within the next week to 10 days and also noted that the slugger's biggest obstacle is managing the pain of catching the baseball, per Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Vaughn (illness) will start in left field and bat seventh Tuesday against Cleveland.

Vaughn and Tim Anderson both ended up missing the second game of Monday's doubleheader in Cleveland due to allergies, but the duo feels well enough to rejoin the lineup a day later. The rookie closed out May with a .221/.303/.430 slash line, four home runs, 12 runs and 11 RBI in 26 games.

Manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday that Gurriel (finger) will return to the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Houston lineup will get a major boost Tuesday with Yordan Alvarez (wrist) also slated to return from a multi-game absence. Gurriel, who is slashing .309/.380/.511 with seven homers and 38 RBI on the campaign, will look to break out of a 4-for-27 skid in his return.

France went 1-for-5 with a game-tying RBI single and subsequently scored the game-winning run in an extra-inning victory over the Athletics on Monday.

France came through with a clutch single in the home half of the 10th to plate inning-opening runner Jack Mayfield, and he subsequently came home himself on Tom Murphy's game-winning sacrifice fly. France has come back from a stint on the injured list with a vengeance, reaching safely in each of his first eight games since returning while producing a .345 average and .801 OPS during that sample of 31 plate appearances.

Hiura went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Monday in the Brewers' 3-2 win over the Tigers in 10 innings.

The Brewers had hoped that a three-week stint in the minors would help Hiura refine his swing mechanics and regain some confidence at the plate, but the 24-year-old hasn't shown any improvement since his May 24 call-up. Despite benefitting from a slew of matchups versus left-handed pitching, Hiura has mustered only one hit in 19 at-bats with a 2:10 BB:K in his first seven games back with Milwaukee. Until he cuts down on his strikeouts and shows he can hit for power consistently, Hiura may be limited to a short-side platoon role at first base behind Daniel Vogelbach.

Alonso went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and two additional RBI in Monday's win over Arizona.

Alonso couldn't have wished for a stronger return, as he was activated from the injured list a few hours before the game and contributed with four of the team's six runs, including his seventh home run of the campaign. The slugger is hitting .242 on the season.