MLB Player News

Diaz (hand) is eligible to come off the injured list Thursday but appears unlikely to do so, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports. "He didn't touch a bat for the Cleveland series," manager Kevin Cash said. "I would imagine he will check on it today, but if it's still sore, he's got some time so we don't want to aggravate it, but hopefully he continues to make progress."

The lack of any recent physical activity on Diaz's part seems to imply that a return Thursday is likely premature. The infielder sustained his injury when he was hit by a pitch May 20, and he may well need a few days beyond the minimum IL stay to be able to swing a bat at full strength.

Bell went 3-for-8 with a double and solo home run during both games of a doubleheader against the Reds on Monday.

With hits in both games, Bell is now on a seven-game hitting streak. He's raised his average to .340, but even more impressively, Bell's slugging .711. That's because he's amassed 18 doubles, 17 home runs and two triples to boot. Bell also has 48 RBI and 39 runs in 197 at-bats, putting himself firmly in the MVP conversation almost one-third of the way through the year.

Dixon went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and two runs scored in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Orioles.

Making his first start of the season at third base, Dixon continued to produce at the plate. The 27-year-old is now slashing .313/.343/.578 through 64 at-bats, and his solid play should lead to more playing time on a Detroit team that has been struggling to score runs consistently.

Gurriel went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Monday's 6-5 win over the Cubs.

With sluggers like George Springer (hamstring) and Carlos Correa (rest) out of the lineup on a holiday afternoon, the Astros' offense had to scratch out runs the hard way. Gurriel's three knocks led a 10-hit attack, but none of the hits left the yard. The veteran super-utility player is now slashing .267/.304/.415 through 50 games this season with four homers, 19 RBI and 26 runs.

Rizzo went 2-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Monday's 6-5 loss to the Astros.

He staked the Cubs to an early lead with his first-inning blast off Gerrit Cole, but Cole Hamels couldn't make it hold up. Rizzo has now hit safely in nine straight games, slashing a blistering .486/.561/1.000 with three doubles, five homers, 10 runs and 13 RBI over that stretch.

Votto is not in the lineup for the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

Votto went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI in the afternoon contest, but the Reds won't ask his 35-year-old legs to handle two games in one day. Derek Dietrich slides over to first base in his absence, with Jose Peraza starting at second.

Cabrera is not in the lineup Monday against the Mariners.

Cabrera sits for just the second time this month. He's hit just .197 since the calendar flipped to May. Logan Forsythe gets the call at the hot corner.

Dixon is starting at third base and batting sixth in Monday's game against the Orioles.

Dixon will be making his first start of the season at third base, as he's primarily played on the other side of the diamond. The 27-year-old is slashing a solid .311/.333/.574 with four home runs and 14 RBI through 24 games.

Guerrero went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Padres.

While his fellow second-generation players Lourdes Gurriel and Cavan Biggio both went yard in a 10-1 rout, Guerrero was doing some damage of his own at the plate, snapping an 0-for-12 skid. The 20-year-old has had a bit of a bumpy introduction to the majors, but Guerrero is still slashing .315/.383/.630 over his last 14 games with five homers, 10 RBI, 10 runs and a 6:8 BB:K.

Smith got the start at first base and hit second in Sunday's win over the Tigers, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored.

Playing time has been hard to come by for Smith this season thanks to Pete Alonso's emergence -- Sunday's start was his first since May 16. Despite the erratic workload, the 23-year-old has performed when called upon, slashing .340/.456/.489 in 57 plate appearances with a homer, six RBI and 13 runs. With the Mets reluctant so far to repeat last year's experiment of using him in an outfield corner, though, Smith's path to a more consistent role would require an injury to Alonso, or a trade.