MLB Player News

Naylor went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and a second run scored in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Royals.

Naylor was part of the Guardians' comeback push -- his fourth-inning homer cut the deficit to 5-3. After being one of the team's hottest hitters in April, the first baseman has hit .178 with a .719 OPS since the start of May. Naylor's power is still coming through with 16 homers, a .500 slugging percentage and a .271 ISO. He hasn't had a pronounced issue with strikeouts either, fanning at just a 16.2 percent rate while walking at a career-best 10.3 percent clip. Naylor's .308 batting average last year was likely unsustainable, but he's a better overall hitter than he's been over the last month.

Cooper is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Cooper served as Boston's designated hitter in both of the past two games and went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts. He'll cede DH duties to Rob Refsnyder on Wednesday, and with Tyler O'Neill (knee) returning from the 10-day injured list one day after Wilyer Abreu (ankle) was deactivated, Boston will likely have room in the lineup against right-handed pitching for only one of Refsnyder and Cooper moving forward. Refsnyder has performed far better than Cooper so far this season, so it wouldn't be surprising if Boston opted to make the former a greater priority in the lineup.

France went 1-for-3 with a two-run double, a walk and a run in a win over the Athletics on Tuesday.

The veteran infielder squared up for a third-inning two-bagger that brought home J.P. Crawford and Josh Rojas with the first two runs of the night, France's eighth and ninth RBI over the last nine games. France has shown a bit more pop in his bat than usual during that span, posting four extra-base hits overall (two doubles, two home runs) on his way to a .333 average and 1.044 OPS across 36 plate appearances. The sample has also featured a welcome increase and drop in walk and strikeout rates, respectively, as he's drawn free passes at a 13.9 percent clip and struck out in a modest 16.7 percent of his plate appearances.

Casas (ribs) still experiences pain when rotating and has not yet begun swinging a bat, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Casas has been taking grounders and hitting the weight room, but that he's not yet swinging a bat suggests he may not return June 21, the earliest he can be activated off the 60-day injured list. "Whenever he feels better about it and he doesn't feel pain, then [swinging] is the next step," manager Alex Cora said. "It's not about treatment or whatever. It just kind of had to heal on its own." While Casas has been sidelined, the Red Sox are getting by with Dominic Smith and Garrett Cooper at first base.

Lowe started at first base and went 1-for-2 with a walk in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Tigers.

Lowe returned to the starting lineup against a right-hander following three consecutive games on the bench against a lefty. He was eventually removed for pinch hitter Robbie Grossman in the ninth inning against a left-hander. Lowe's line against southpaws in 2024 is down from his career standard -- .619 OPS this season compared to .761 for his career -- but that's still better than the alternative. Ezequiel Duran, who started at first base while Lowe was benched, owns a .604 OPS against lefties in 2024.

Mountcastle went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a two-run shot during Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Mountcastle was a one-man wrecking crew Tuesday, launching homers in the third and fifth innings -- both off Bowden Francis. The outing was Mountcastle's second multi-homer game of June and the 10th of his career. The first baseman has been on fire during the O's last four series, a stretch where he's batting .388 with 11 RBI and 10 runs scored across 12 games.

Dalbec went 1-for-3 with two RBI during Tuesday's 8-3 loss to Atlanta.

Dalbec got his first start since being called up Sunday, filling in at right field -- a position he hadn't played at the MLB level before -- with Wilyer Abreu (ankle) sidelined. Dalbec plated Rafael Devers and Connor Wong on a fourth-inning single for his only hit of the day. With Tyler O'Neill (knee) set for reinstatement as soon as Wednesday, Dalbec figures to be an alternative option at right field or first base for the duration of his big-league stay.

Vaughn (finger) will start at first base and bat second in Tuesday's game against the Cubs.

Vaughn sprained his left ring finger over the weekend and missed the entirety of the White Sox's three-game series with the Brewers. However, after a team day off Monday, Vaughn will return to the White Sox lineup in time for the start of its series with the North Siders.

Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's loss to the Orioles.

The 25-year-old crushed a Grayson Rodriguez slider in the fourth inning, sending it over the fence in straightaway center field with an exit velocity of 109.2 mph. Guerrero is beginning to flash a little more power -- over his last 11 games, he has three doubles and two of his six homers on the year -- but he's been making plenty of hard contact, slashing .367/.452/.495 since the beginning of May with 16 RBI and 16 runs in 28 contests.

Schanuel (thumb) is starting at first base and batting leadoff in Monday's game against the Padres.

Schanuel missed three contests while nursing a sore left thumb but is feeling well enough to give it a go in the Angels' series opener against the Padres. The first baseman will carry an uninspiring .224/.294/.328line into action Monday.