MLB Player News

Belt (wrist) is available as a defensive replacement Monday against the Indians, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Belt's wrist is reportedly feeling much better, and although he isn't willing to test it with the bat Monday evening, he does expect to receive clearance Tuesday. He's day-to-day for now, but a Tuesday return seems to be fairly reasonable at this point.

Belt (wrist) is not in the lineup Monday against the Indians, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

This marks the second consecutive game the Giants' first baseman will miss due to a sprained wrist. No word on Belt's progress has come forth, but in the meantime, Jae-Gyun Hwang seems to be in line to pick up more starts at first base, as he will Monday evening.

Choi is out of the lineup Monday against the Twins, Pete Caldera of The Record reports.

Unless the Yankees add a first baseman via trade prior to the deadline, it looks like Choi and Garrett Cooper will work in a platoon at the position. As the left-handed hitter of the two, Choi stands to see the larger portion of the at-bats, but with the Yankees facing a fourth lefty starter in five games, the 26-year-old will hit the bench once again.

Goins is out of the lineup Monday against the Red Sox.

Since Devon Travis (knee) hit the disabled list, Goins has settled into the strong side of a platoon at second base with Darwin Barney. It will be Goins' turn to sit out Monday with the Red Sox starting a lefty in Eduardo Rodriguez.

Soler was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City reports.

Soler was unable to parlay his success in the Pacific Coast League into an everyday role with the Royals during his latest stint with the big club, as he had picked up just three starts over the Royals' last eight contests. He went 0-for-12 at the plate during that stretch to drop his season average to .154. Alex Gordon (.192 average over 311 plate appearances) hasn't provided much of an impact as the Royals' primary left fielder, so if he fails to show improvement in the coming weeks and Soler starts raking again at Omaha, the 25-year-old could soon be in line for another promotion.

Cespedes (hip) is back in the lineup Monday against the Cardinals, batting third and playing left field.

The slugger missed just one game after exiting Saturday's contest due to an ailing hip. He'll resume his normal role for New York moving forward, although it wouldn't be too surprising to see him get semi-regular days off, given the laundry list of injuries he's dealt with this season.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with an RBI double in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Pirates.

The slugging leadoff man erased an early 1-0 deficit with his fifth-inning two-bagger that plated the just-recalled Magneuris Sierra. Carpenter's red-hot start to July includes a six-game hitting streak, four multi-hit efforts and doubles in three of his last five contests. The 31-year-old has already brought his season average up 12 points to .243 since the beginning of the month, although that figure still easily ranks as his worst in any major-league season outside of his initial seven-game cup of coffee in 2011.

Martinez went 1-for-2 with a home run, a walk and two RBI in Sunday's win over the Blue Jays.

Martinez's eighth-inning solo shot tied the game, and the Tigers would go on to win in extra innings. The 29-year-old slugger now has 16 home runs in just 198 at-bats this season, and he should remain one of the strongest hitters in fantasy baseball so long as he stays healthy.

Turner went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two RBI during Sunday's win over Miami.

Turner has an impressive 10 homers, 22 RBI and 24 runs through 29 games since returning from the disabled list June 9. He's sporting an elite .374/.469/.584 slash line for the season, and Turner projects to remain a high-end fantasy asset hitting in the heart of the dominant Los Angeles lineup.

Vargas went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Astros.

Vargas opened the scoring in the second inning with his eighth long ball of the season, but Houston promptly tied the game in the bottom of the frame and ended up pulling away for good by the end of the fourth. The first baseman's .247/.290/.437 line is just about in line with his career output of .250/.305/.431.