MLB Player News

Raley is starting in left field and batting fifth for the Rays on Friday in Toronto.

Raley has been in the lineup all nine times the Rays have faced a right-hander this season and hasn't hit lower than fifth. He hasn't done much outside of a two-game stretch against the Nationals earlier this month, but Tampa Bay clearly wants to see what he can do versus righties.

Cooper (leg) is back in the lineup Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Cooper tweaked something in his upper left leg Tuesday and missed Wednesday's series finale versus the Phillies, but he's in there as the Marlins' designated hitter and No. 2 hitter in Friday's series opener against Arizona.

Smith is batting second Friday versus the Guardians.

Smith has mostly hit third or cleanup so far this season, but the Nats will switch things up Friday against Guardians right-hander Cal Quantrill. Joey Meneses is hitting third and Jeimer Candelario is in the cleanup spot.

Kirilloff (wrist) homered and drew a walk Thursday in a rehab game with Low-A Fort Myers.

Kirilloff was starting in right field in his second rehab contest after playing first base in his first rehab game Tuesday. He'll surely move up to a higher affiliate at some point and also needs to show he can play back-to-back games before being activated. The Twins haven't announced a timetable for Kirilloff's return, but he should be able to make it back before the end of the month if all goes well.

Dalbec started at third base and went 0-for-3 in Thursday's 9-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

He filled in for a resting Rafael Devers after playing shortstop the day before. The Red Sox are moving Dalbec around -- he's played first base, shortstop and now third base over the last three games -- trying to take advantage of a potentially explosive right-handed bat against a string of southpaws. He's 2-for-9 with two walks and a stolen base since being called up.

Tellez went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional RBI in a 4-3 extra-inning win against San Diego on Thursday.

Tellez helped get Milwaukee off to a positive start, drilling a homer to right field in the first inning. The first baseman added what proved to be the game-winning RBI in the top of the 10th with a sacrifice fly. Tellez endured a rough start to the campaign, slashing just .143/.242/.286 with one long ball over his first eight contests. He could be turning things around, however, as he's gone 3-for-9 with a pair of homers, four RBI and a 2:0 BB:K across his past three games.

Rizzo went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's loss against the Twins.

Rizzo was the lone bright spot in the Yankees' worst loss of the season thus far. The former Cub has had a hot start to the season, hitting .326 with a 1.004 OPS. The veteran lefty will look to continue playing well in his crucial role of protecting reigning league MVP Aaron Judge in the lineup.

Mountcastle went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 8-7 victory over Oakland.

Mountcastle led off the fourth inning with a solo shot off Adam Oller, tying the game 4-4. The 24-year-old first baseman has six homers on the season, including four in his last three games, tying him with Pete Alonso for the MLB lead. Mountcastle is slashing .264/.293/.679 with a league-leading 19 RBI through 53 at-bats to start the year.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-3 win over Boston.

Diaz led off the bottom of the first inning with a 434-foot bomb off Corey Kluber to tie the game 1-1. Diaz has shown some unexpected power early this season -- he already has four long balls after hitting just nine in 473 at-bats last season. The 31-year-old Diaz is batting .275/.388/.600 with 13 runs scored and nine RBI while serving as Tampa Bay's primary leadoff hitter.

Flores went 3-for-5 with two RBI in Wednesday's 10-5 loss to the Dodgers.

Flores has started three of the last four games at first base, and he's gone 5-for-13 with four RBI in that span. All of those starts came against southpaws, so it's still too soon to see if he'll break out of a short-side platoon role. He's done well this season with a .346/.414/.654 slash line, two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored over 29 plate appearances.