MLB Player News

Manager Buck Showalter said that Mountcastle (hand) is progressing well but has yet to resume hitting, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mountcastle is able to do everything else at this point, but he will likely need a few more weeks before returning to the field at the Double-A level. When the 21-year-old went down with a broken hand in mid-March, the initial timetable was four-to-six weeks, so he's currently right at the beginning of that projection. Expect to see him begin hitting in the next week or so as he gears up for a return in mid-May.

Gurriel (hand) was activated from the 10-day disabled list Friday.

As expected, the Cuban will return to the team after missing the first portion of the season due to hand surgery and a suspension. He should take over as the team's primary first baseman moving forward. To make room for Gurriel on the roster, J.D. Davis was sent back to the minors after Wednesday's contest.

Cooper (wrist) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Friday, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

There was a thought that Cooper may be able to return sometime in April given that he's only expected to be in a cast until around April 16, but Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that he actually received a new diagnosis of a partial tear of the tendon sheath in his right wrist. As a result, he's now expected to miss two months of action even though surgery isn't needed. J.B. Shuck will replace him on the active roster.

Santana is in the 98th percentile in hard-hit rate despite an ugly .150/.245/.375 slash line through his first 49 plate appearances, MLB.com reports.

Santana's slow start can be attributed to a .118 BABIP. Sometimes, a drop in BABIP can be caused by a decline in skills, leading to a hitter making weaker contact or popping the ball up more often. That's not the case for Santana, who is hitting the ball extremely hard. Unfortunately, he's been hitting the ball right at fielders, as he leads all of baseball in hard-hit outs with 16. Only one other hitter has more than 12. His other secondary statistics universally point to a turnaround, as his groundball rate of 27.8 percent is far below his 42.2 percent career average, while his 14.3 percent strikeout rate and 12.2 percent walk rate are right in line with the numbers he's posted over the past two seasons. Santana's owners certainly won't be happy with the numbers he's posted so far, but ultimately there's nothing going on here other than a lesson in small sample sizes. Expect a turnaround if he keeps crushing the ball like he has been so far.

Naylor went 3-for-4 with two home runs Thursday for Double-A San Antonio.

The hefty first baseman is now hitting .464 with five home runs and one steal (on two attempts) through seven games for the Missions. His batting average is obviously going to come down (.421 BABIP), but this power breakout is noteworthy. Naylor's raw power has always graded out near the top of the scale, but he has struggled to consistently get to it in games -- he hit just two home runs in 42 games at Double-A last year.

Hiura (shoulder) returned to action Thursday and went 3-for-5 with a triple for High-A Carolina.

He was thrown out on a stolen-base attempt, but it was an excellent performance on the whole for the much-hyped hitter. Prior to this contest, Hiura was sidelined for three days after getting hit by a pitch on his shoulder. He is now 4-for-20 (.200 average) with five strikeouts and zero walks in his first five games in the Carolina League.

Votto is not in the lineup Thursday against the Cardinals.

The 34-year-old has gotten off to a relatively slow start at the plate, producing a .586 OPS in 48 plate appearances without a single extra-base hit. This will also be the first time since 2016 in which he's not in the starting lineup. It's likely just a night off to clear his head, so look for him to return to his regular post at first base for Friday's contest. Adam Duvall will take his place at first Thursday.

Hiura has missed the past three games after getting hit on the shoulder by a pitch Sunday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The top prospect is already limited to DH duty due to a lingering elbow problem, but the team doesn't seem to be overly concerned by this new issue. His shoulder reportedly just tightened up on him the last couple days. Hiura is expected to return to the lineup for High-A Carolina on Thursday night, though he'll likely be limited to acting as the DH for a bit longer.

Rizzo (back) spent time in the batting cage Thursday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Rizzo should be back in action when he's eligible to return from the DL on Monday prior to the series opener against St. Louis. In his place, Victor Caratini has picked up a few starts at first base while Ben Zobrist will get the nod during Thursday's game versus Pittsburgh.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Giants.

With four extra-base hits in his last three games and home runs in back-to-back contests, Goldschmidt finally seems to be waking from his season-long slumber. It's particularly encouraging that Goldschmidt, who entered the series with a meager .100/.341/.133 slash line and a career-worst 26.8 percent strikeout rate, managed to break out at San Francisco's AT&T Park, a notoriously pitcher-friendly venue. Dodger Stadium is certainly no hitter's haven either -- especially with Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw slated to start the next three games for Los Angeles -- but Goldschmidt's strong showing in San Francisco should give fantasy owners confidence in him heading into a trio of tough matchups this weekend.