MLB Player News

Beer was promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 2018 first-rounder hit .328/.414/.602 with nine homers and 34 RBI in 35 games for High-A Fayetteville before earning a promotion to Double-A. There is no doubt that Beer can hit, but the bigger question is where he lands defensively or if he's a DH-only prospect. Either way, he'll look to continue mashing his way up the minor-league latter.

Harper will start in right field and bat second Thursday against the Brewers.

Harper has made all of his previous 42 starts this season as the No. 3 hitter, but he'll swap spots in the order with Jean Segura in the series finale. Manager Gabe Kapler likely decided to make the change in an effort to spark Harper, who has struck out in a career-worst 30.8 percent of his plate appearances this season. If Harper finds some initial success while batting between Andrew McCutchen and Segura, the big free-agent pickup could remain in that lineup spot on a permanent basis.

Cabrera (knee) will serve as the Tigers' designated hitter and bat cleanup Thursday against the Athletics, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Cabrera was held out of the lineup in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Tigers while he dealt with some knee soreness, but the issue was never viewed as a serious concern. The Tigers could limit Cabrera's duties at first base for the next few days until the soreness fully subsides, but the injury shouldn't impact him as much at the plate as a DH. Cabrera is batting .283 in May but continues to show little power with only one extra-base hit (a double) in 13 games this month.

Buxton went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in an 8-7 victory against the Angels on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old is on a five-game hitting streak, which sounds modest, but it's raised his average 30 points. Buxton has shown little over-the-fence power so far, but he owns a .500 slugging percentage on the strength of 18 doubles and two triples. He is batting .278 with 16 RBI, 20 runs and eight steals in 126 at-bats.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Rockies.

The power binge continues for Martinez, who now has five homers in his last seven games. He's gone 9-for-28 and walked six times in that span, giving him a slash line of .321/.399/.541 through 41 games.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Padres, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Pederson will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale with left-hander Matt Strahm starting for the opposition. In his place, Chris Taylor is starting in left field and hitting sixth.

Cabrera (knee) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Astros, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Cabrera exited Tuesday's game with some knee soreness, and while the issue isn't thought to be anything overly serious, it will force the veteran slugger to miss at least one game. Niko Goodrum is starting at first base in his absence, with Brandon Dixon getting the nod at DH. Cabrera should be considered day-to-day.

Harper is in the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers despite a sore knee.

Harper said following Tuesday's game that he had a sore left knee after making a pair of sliding catches. The injury evidently isn't serious enough for him to miss any starts, so he'll keep his streak of starting every single game for the Phillies this season.

Belt is dealing with renewed discomfort in his knee, Amy Gutierrez of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

This explains why Belt is out of the lineup against a right-hander Wednesday. The veteran first baseman recently returned from a two-game absence, and with Thursday's off day, the Giants wanted to play it safe and give him a couple of days off to get right. Pablo Sandoval is starting at first base and hitting cleanup in his place.

Soler went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run Tuesday in the Royals' 11-5 win over the Rangers.

Soler and leadoff man Whit Merrifield paced the Royals with three hits apiece as they chased Texas starter Shelby Miller from the game in the second inning. The two doubles give Soler 24 extra-base hits on the campaign, putting him in a tie for 11th place among all MLB hitters.