MLB Player News
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Josh Bell DH | MIN
Nationals' Josh Bell: Three hits against Twins
Bell went 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI in Sunday's win over Minnesota.
The veteran first baseman might be on the trade block, and if so, Bell's doing his best to increase his value to a contender. Over 19 games in July, he's slashing .348/.434/.515 with five doubles, two homers, eight runs and nine RBI.
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Adrian Del Castillo C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Maintains presence against RHP
Del Castillo started at designated hitter and went 1-for-4 in Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Pirates.
Del Castillo continued to be a lineup regular at DH against right-handed starters (Paul Skenes on Sunday). He doesn't have one plate appearance against a southpaw. His playing time could take a hit when Pavin Smith (oblique) returns, but a healthy Smith might be needed to handle first base. Additionally, the Diamondbacks are clearly sellers heading into the trade deadline, which suggests the organization may give developmental plate appearances to prospects like Del Castillo over the final two months.
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Wilmer Flores 1B | SF
Giants' Wilmer Flores: Getting night off
Flores is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Flores had been included in the starting nine in both of the first two games of the series against his former team, but he'll be riding the pine for the series finale while another ex-Met (Dominic Smith) replaces him at first base. Rafael Devers is eventually expected to handle first base on a full-time basis, but Flores should stick in the lineup over Smith more often than not as the Giants' designated hitter.
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Andrew McCutchen DH | TEX
Pirates' Andrew McCutchen: Not in Sunday's lineup
McCutchen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
McCutchen will head to the bench after going 1-for-13 with a solo homer while starting the previous three games. Bryan Reynolds will receive a turn at designated hitter as Jack Suwinski picks up a start in right field.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Launches homer No. 38
Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Red Sox on Saturday.
Ohtani began the game with a bang, smoking a 414-foot homer off star hurler Garrett Crochet in the first inning. That was the only time the two-way star managed to put the ball in play, however, as he struck out in his remaining three at-bats. Ohtani has been boom-or-bust of late -- he's homered six times over his past seven games but has also struck out 14 times during that stretch. That's been a season-long trend for the slugger -- he ranks second in MLB with 38 long balls but is also tied for sixth with 124 punchouts.
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Marcell Ozuna DH | PIT
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Getting rare start Saturday
Ozuna is starting at DH and batting seventh Saturday against the Rangers.
This will be just the second start of the second half for Ozuna, and his first since Sunday. The veteran slugger is having a down year with a .751 OPS through 94 contests, and he's consequently lost his everyday role. Atlanta has been keeping the bats of backstops Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy in the lineup together by using one at DH in most games.
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Kyle Schwarber LF | PHI
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Two-homer day includes 1,000th hit
Schwarber went 3-for-5 with a walk, two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Friday's 12-5 win over the Yankees.
The veteran slugger recorded his 1,000th career hit in the fifth inning when he took Will Warren deep for a two-run shot, and Schwarber kept piling on by launching another two-run homer off Ian Hamilton in the eighth. Schwarber is having a monster July, slashing .274/.361/.781 over 18 games with 11 home runs and 25 RBI, and he sits four long balls shy of his third career 40-HR campaign.
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Pavin Smith RF | ARI
Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith: In line for first base
Smith (oblique) could become the primary starter at first base after the Diamondbacks traded Josh Naylor to the Mariners on Thursday, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.
Smith first needs to get over his oblique injury. He recently began taking dry swings, but it's unclear when he'll be ready to rejoin Arizona. Rather than seeing an everyday role, he may work on the strong side of a platoon upon his return -- he has just 17 at-bats against lefties in 2025. While Smith remains sidelined, Tristin English will likely see most of the action at first base.
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Andrew McCutchen DH | TEX
Pirates' Andrew McCutchen: First homer of July
McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Tigers.
McCutchen went deep in the first inning of Wednesday's game to tally his ninth home run of the season. It was his first across 55 at-bats in July, and he has just one additional extra-base hit while hitting only .200 for the month.
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Kyle Schwarber LF | PHI
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Crushes 34th homer Wednesday
Schwarber went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's 9-8 extra-innings loss to the Red Sox.
Schwarber clobbered homer No. 34 on the season, which ranks fifth in the major leagues. The All-Star slugger doesn't tend to hit for a high average, but he's done a fine job of keeping fantasy managers afloat in that category on top of his exceptional power production in 2025. Over his last 72 games (319 plate appearances), Schwarber is slashing .252/.367/.574 with 25 round trippers, 12 doubles, 55 RBI and seven stolen bases.