MLB Player News

Manager Terry Francona said Santana, who exited Monday's game prematurely, felt discomfort in his back prior to Monday's game, but the first baseman insisted on playing through the pain, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Francona indicated that he almost scratched Santana from Monday's lineup after the latter experienced muscle spasms while taking pregame swings in the cage. Santana talked his way into the lineup, but the discomfort eventually caught up to him. "On his last at-bat, you could see it was bothering him," said Francona. "Then when he sat down, it kind of grabbed at him."

Santana was forced to leave Monday's game against the Red Sox early with back tightness, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

This is rough timing for Cleveland, as Santana was on an absolute tear. Although he went 0-for-3 before exiting Monday, Santana was hitting .448/.556/.793 with five extra-base hits in his past eight games. Consider him day-to-day until we hear more, but with a diagnosis of merely "tightness," it sounds like there's a chance Santana could return quickly.

Bell is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Dodgers.

Bell owns an middling .230/.310/.416 line against southpaws this season, so he'll get the day off against lefty-throwing Alex Wood despite going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. Jose Osuna will take over for him at first base, batting fifth.

Olson is not in the lineup Monday against the Orioles, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Olson will take a seat Monday as the A's are set to take on a southpaw in Wade Miley. With Olson out, Ryon Healy will start at first base and hit fifth.

Voit was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

While Voit has maintained a respectable .783 OPS over 43 games since receiving the call to the majors, the Cardinals hadn't been able to find regular starts for the first baseman, who has picked up just 23 at-bats in 18 games during August. The 26-year-old will get the chance to take back an everyday role with Memphis for the next week or so before presumably rejoining the Cardinals as a September call-up.

Calhoun went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and three walks in Sunday's win over the Orioles.

The homer was Calhoun's third over his last four contests, and he now boasts a .327/.429/.538 triple-slash through 16 games in August. Although the 29-year-old hasn't been as consistent as expected this season, this hot streak has him back on the fantasy radar in most formats.

Bell went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI on Sunday in a 6-3 win over St. Louis at the Little League Classic.

Bell played the hero in front of a few thousand lucky fans in Williamsport, smacking a two-run bomb in the first inning off Cardinals starter Mike Leake before singling in a couple more runs in the third. He's been productive of late with 13 RBI over his last nine contests, giving the first baseman an impressive 72 in his sophomore season.

Bour (oblique) will resume baseball activities this week, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

He has been on the disabled list since July 25 with a strain of his right oblique, and it will be interesting to see if the Marlins push Bour back into action prior to the expansion of rosters on Sept. 1. Tomas Telis and Tyler Moore will continue to handle the bulk of the starts at first base in Bour's absence.

Joseph is out of Sunday's lineup against the Giants, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

He will sit for the second game in a row in favor of Rhys Hoskins at first base. The plan when Hoskins was originally promoted was for him to play primarily left field, but he has been so impressive (four home runs in 10 games) that the Phillies may have decided that he no longer needs to defer to Joseph at first base. It doesn't help that Joseph is in a 5-for-56 (.089) funk over his last 16 games.

Gurriel is not in the lineup Sunday against the A's.

Despite riding a modest seven-game hit streak, Gurriel will head to the bench for a day off after starting 17 of the last 18 games. Marwin Gonzalez will take over for him at first base for the contest. He should continue to get a day off every couple weeks or so in an attempt to keep him fresh for the stretch run.