MLB Player News

Hoskins went 2-for-4 with his 25th home run of the season for Double-A Reading on Friday.

Hoskins is on another home run tear with five in his last 10 games. His 25 home runs are tops in the minors this season and teammate Dylan Cozens is just one behind him with 24 homers. While the power is impressive, it is important to note that Hoskins plays in a hitter-friendly ballpark where he has hit 16 of his home runs this season.

Joseph hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in Friday's 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Joseph is showing signs of pulling out of his slump. He is 6-for-12 with a double and two home runs over his last four games.

Cron was placed on the 15-day DL after suffering a broken left hand in Friday's game, the Los Angeles Times' Pedro Moura reports.

He was hit on the hand by a pitch from Mike Wright and will presumably miss a month or more. Ji-Man Choi was recalled from Triple-A and figures to slot right into Cron's role of primary first baseman. A more concrete timetable for Cron's return should become clear in the coming days.

Freeman went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a walk Friday at the White Sox.

Freeman's 15th blast of the year got the Braves on the board in the first inning of a game they'd go on to win. He's now reached base safely in 21 of his last 23 games, and he's slashing .285/.370/.509 on the season.

Carter went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo homers Friday against the Cardinals.

Both of Carter's bombs came off of Michael Wacha, and the second one gave them a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning in a game the Brewers would go on to win. He now has three homers in seven July games to give him 22 on the season.

Cron suffered a fractured left hand in Friday's game against the Orioles and is ticketed for the 15-day DL, the Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher reports.

He was hit on the hand by a pitch from Mike Wright during Friday's contest and was replaced by Jefry Marte at first base. The Angels hardly have any competent hitters surrounding Mike Trout when everyone is healthy, and now the team is a bit banged up. Albert Pujols is available to play some first base, but Marte also figures to get some starts there while Cron is out. Look for the team to officially place him on the DL either Friday night or prior to Saturday's game.

The Pirates plan to have Bell serve as a bench bat this weekend against the Cubs, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Bell is not in the lineup Friday and it sounds like he could stick on the bench Saturday and Sunday, as the Pirates reportedly want to wait until the break to evaluate their roster. With lefty Jon Lester due up for Chicago on Saturday, it's always possible the Pirates could reverse course and give Bell the nod over John Jaso at first base, but it sounds like a start this weekend for Bell is far from guaranteed.

Bell is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

Bell got the call to the major leagues Friday but the Pirates will not immediately slot him into the lineup, instead giving the nod at first base to John Jaso once again. It's a little surprising considering Bell was raking with Triple-A Indianapolis and Jaso is 1-for-14 lifetime against Friday's starter Jake Arrieta. Regardless, Bell figures to get the nod Saturday against lefty Jon Lester and it seems unlikely he was brought up to fill merely a short-end platoon role.

Bell was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

Bell has been dominating at the plate with Indianapolis, leading the club with 53 RBI and 13 home runs while posting a .324/.407/.535 line. With John Jaso struggling to produce at the plate over the last month, Bell has a chance to take over as the regular starter at first base. He is a finished product in prospect terms, having seen more than 100 games at Double-A and Triple-A en route to the big leagues, so he could find success right away.

Howard went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, two RBI and a run in Thursday's 11-2 loss to the Rockies.

It was a rare ray of sunshine in an otherwise nightmarish season for the veteran slugger, who's still slashing only .158/.219/.362 after Thursday's strong effort. While Howard has shown he still has plenty of pop in his bat, he's been incredibly feast-or-famine this season, striking out 68 times over 196 at-bats, and generating only four extra-base hits, all doubles, in addition to his 12 round-trippers.