MLB Player News

The Brewers reinstated Bauers (personal) from the bereavement list Monday.

Bauers was away from the Brewers for this past weekend's series in St. Louis but is back on the active roster for the series opener in Pittsburgh. He'll continue to see regular action at first base or as a designated hitter against right-handed pitching.

The Phillies recalled Clemens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.

He'll join the 26-man active roster as a replacement for Bryce Harper (personal), who was placed on the paternity list. Harper will likely remain away from the Phillies for the maximum three days to welcome in the newest addition to his family, so Clemens' stay with the big club could come to an end before the end of the week. Clemens has produced an .841 OPS over 69 plate appearances at Lehigh Valley this season.

The Phillies placed Harper (personal) on the paternity list ahead of Monday's game against the Reds.

Per MLB rules, players placed on the paternity list have to miss between one and three games, so expect Harper to take the maximum amount of time to welcome in the newest addition to his family. Harper could link back up with the Phillies in Cincinnati on Thursday for the club's series finale with the Reds. Infielder Kody Clemens was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.

Freeman went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 10-0 win over the Mets.

Freeman doubled his first time up and then doubled home two runs as part of an eight-run fifth inning for the Dodgers. He's now reached base six times in the last two games and has five RBI over that span. The 34-year-old is hitting .287/.406/.391 with a home run, 13 RBI, 12 runs and a 15:20 BB:K in 106 plate appearances.

Encarnacion-Strand went 1-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI during Sunday's 3-0 win over the Angels.

Encarnacion-Strand took part in each of the Reds' three runs scored, driving in Nick Martini and Elly De La Cruz on a sixth-inning double before coming around to score on a Jeimer Candelario triple. Although Encarnacion-Strand holds a poor .185/.190/.321 slash line, he ranks third on the Reds with 14 RBI.

Walker is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Walker started the first 22 games of the season but will receive a well-deserved day off Sunday in San Francisco. Pavin Smith will step in at first base and bat sixth.

Goldschmidt is starting at first base and batting fifth Sunday against the Brewers.

The 36-year-old has a .173/.279/.213 slash line through 20 games this season and will drop below the cleanup spot for the first time since 2013, per Rob Rains of StLSportsPage.com. Goldschmidt's track record provides plenty of reason to believe it's only matter of before he turns things around, but the move down the order is notable given his usual stability in the lineup.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Athletics.

Naylor has hit safely in eight straight games, going 11-for-33 (.333) with three homers and eight RBI in that span. The first baseman is thriving in the cleanup spot, slashing .329/.400/.630 with six homers, 17 RBI, 13 runs scored and four doubles over 85 plate appearances, but he's also been caught stealing on both of his attempts this year. Naylor has trimmed his strikeouts rate to 11.8 percent and upped his walk rate to 9.9 percent. He's never hit more than 20 homers in a season, but he's also never exceeded 122 contests, so an everyday role seems to be in part helping his increased production.

France went 2-for-5 with a run in a win over the Rockies on Saturday, marking his sixth and seventh times on base within his last 10 plate appearances.

The hot stretch encompasses the last three games for France and began with a pinch-hit appearance in which he drew a walk against the Reds on Tuesday. The veteran infielder is sitting on an impressive .288 average and .348 on-base percentage, while his slugging percentage checks in at a much more modest .339 since he only has a trio of extra-base hits (all doubles) over 66 plate appearances. However, France is demonstrating improved discipline at the plate -- his 9.1 percent walk rate is a career high, while his 27.7 percent chase rate is significantly lower than the 37.8 percent figure he finished 2023 with.

The Cardinals recalled Pages from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.

Pages was called up by St. Louis earlier in the season to provide depth at catcher with Willson Contreras battling a hand injury. Katie Woo of The Athletic notes that recalling Pages will allow the Cardinals to play both Contreras and Ivan Herrera at catcher and DH regularly. To make room for Pages, the Cardinals optioned outfielder Victor Scott to Triple-A Memphis.