MLB Player News

The Rays released Smith on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Topkin hears that Smith is expected to sign a major-league contract with another club, although the identity of that team isn't known at this point. Smith has slashed .263/.337/.375 with two home runs over 21 games this season at Triple-A Durham. The 28-year-old had a .692 OPS across 153 contests last season with the Nationals.

Walker went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Dodgers.

Walker bookended the Diamondbacks' scoring with a solo home run in the fourth inning then a two-run, walk-off job in the bottom of the 10th. He closed out the month on a roll, going 10-for-24 (.417) with four homers and nine RBI over the final seven games. The first baseman has a team-high seven home runs and is tied for the team lead with 22 RBI.

Montero went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Tuesday against the Marlins.

Montero went yard in his first plate appearance of the game to tally his second homer of the season. After a slow start to the campaign from a results perspective, he has gone 8-for-31 with seven RBI and three runs scored across his last eight contests. Montero's production should continue to tick up as he has maintained a vastly improved 16.8 percent strikeout rate.

Singleton went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run, a walk and two runs scored in Tuesday's 10-9 win over the Guardians.

Singleton was somewhat surprisingly in the lineup and starting at first base despite the promotion of Joey Loperfido. Singleton began his day with a walk before coming around to score in the third inning, and he followed that up one plate appearance with his first home run of the campaign. He has the chance to see additional at-bats at first base with Jose Abreu demoted to the minors and Loperfido picking up at least some starts in the outfield. However, for Singleton to log regular plate appearances, he'll need to improve upon his .239/.327/.348 line.

Goldschmidt went 5-for-9 with a double and two runs scored in Tuesday's doubleheader split versus the Tigers.

Goldschmidt had not collected five hits over any two-game span this season prior to Tuesday. Even with the strong performance, the first baseman is slashing a mediocre .236/.323/.318 with two home runs, 11 RBI, 14 runs scored, three doubles and a stolen base over 29 contests. Goldschmidt has yet to lose playing time amid his slow start, but that could change once the Cardinals get players like Dylan Carlson (shoulder), Tommy Edman (wrist) and Matt Carpenter (oblique) back from the injured list. On the positive side, Goldschmidt has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, so he may be turning things around enough to maintain his place in the lineup.

Loperfido went 1-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored Tuesday against the Guardians.

Loperfido was officially called up Tuesday for his big-league debut and started in left field in place of Chas McCormick (hamstring). Loperfido flew out in his first plate appearance, but he delivered a two-RBI single with the bases loaded in the fourth inning for his first big-league hit. The Astros have been somewhat unclear on their plan to use him in the short term, but there are regular plate appearances available with Jose Abreu away from the team.

Joe went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Oakland.

Joe tagged Alex Wood for a solo shot in the first inning, marking his third long ball in 100 plate appearances this season. He's on pace to exceed his career-high home run total of 11, which he achieved in 472 plate appearances last season. During his last five games, Joe is batting 6-for-19 (.316) with a pair of doubles and Tuesday's home run.

Naylor went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored during Tuesday's 10-9 loss to the Astros.

Naylor launched his seventh home run of the campaign and scored multiple times for the second time this season. Even with Naylor's long ball, he's batting 3-for-22 (.136) over his last six games. However, he's added a pair of stolen bases and has struck out four times to three walks during that stretch.

Dalbec entered Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning after Garrett Cooper was hit by a pitch on the wrist. Dalbec was hit by a pitch and subsequently stole a base in his lone plate appearance.

The early word on Cooper's injury is a wrist contusion, and it's unclear how much time he'll need to make a full recovery. The development puts Dalbec back in the mix for more playing time; he had been the primary first baseman prior to Boston acquiring Cooper last week.

Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup Tuesday versus Oakland, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

With left-hander Alex Wood set to start on the mound for the A's, the lefty-hitting Tellez will step out of the lineup. Connor Joe will fill in at first base Tuesday and bat third.