MLB Player News

France was diagnosed with a right calf bruise after exiting Thursday's game against the Guardians.

France appeared to sustain his injury while stretching to make the final out at first base in the top of the second inning. Whether he's forced to miss additional time remains to be seen, but Carlos Santana, Dylan Moore and Jake Lamb are candidates to step in at first base if France is sidelined.

France was removed from Thursday's game against the Guardians due to an apparent injury, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

France appeared to be in pain after stretching to catch the final out in the top of the second inning, and he was replaced at first base to begin the third frame. Prior to his departure, he went hitless in his lone at-bat. The nature and severity of his injury aren't yet known.

Santana will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter and No. 6 batter in Thursday's game against the Guardians.

Santana will pick up his fourth consecutive start after going 3-for-11 with a double and a walk over the past three contests, but his run of steady playing time will likely come to an end as soon as Sam Haggerty (shoulder) is ready to rejoin the lineup. Haggerty was able to take some swings with a fungo bat Tuesday and has been deployed off the bench twice since suffering the shoulder injury, so the Mariners appear to be optimistic that he'll avoid a stint on the 10-day injured list.

Dalbec started at shortstop and went 0-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Blue Jays.

The Red Sox were missing two middle infielders due to injury -- Xander Bogaerts (back) and Christian Arroyo (leg) -- so manager Alex Cora had to get creative. Enrique Hernandez moved from center field to second base, where he has 218 games of experience during his career, and Dalbec made his first-ever start at shortstop. He's played a four innings there in the majors and three while in the minors, but Cora pointed out to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com that he's also shifted to that spot while playing third base. Dalbec is unlikely a long-term solution if Bogaerts is forced to miss significant time.

Naylor went 1-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Padres.

Naylor has gone eight games without an extra-base hit, going 6-for-25 (.240) with two steals, one RBI and a run in that span. The 25-year-old's slump has lowered his season slash line to .270/.325/.467 with 15 home runs, 57 RBI, 34 runs scored and five steals through 88 contests. Despite the poor hitting lately, he's retained a near-everyday role at first base over Owen Miller when healthy.

Lowe went 3-for-6 with a home run, a triple, five RBI and three runs scored Wednesday against the Rockies.

Lowe played a big role in the Rangers' offensive outburst Wednesday, starting with an RBI triple in the opening frame. He added a three-run homer in the eighth inning, his 20th long ball of the season and fourth in his last seven starts. On the campaign, Lowe is now hitting .295/.344/.485 across 488 plate appearances.

Double-A Montgomery reinstated Paulson (knee) from its injured list and assigned him to High-A Bowling Green on Tuesday. He started at first base and went 0-for-1 with a walk and an RBI in a 3-1 win over Rome.

Paulson was making his 2022 full-season debut Tuesday, after a torn ACL sustained last May kept him out of commission for just over 14 months. He began a rehab assignment Aug. 1 in the rookie-level Florida Complex League and went 8-for-24 with an 8:4 BB:K in nine games before being cleared to join Bowling Green.

Pratto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Pratto's playing-time outlook appeared to improve when Vinnie Pasquantino (shoulder) was moved to the injured list Tuesday, but the lefty-hitting Pratto will now find himself on the bench against a right-handed pitcher (Zac Gallen) for the second time in three games. Hunter Dozier will pick up the start at first base in place of Pratto, who is hitting .163 with a 36.5 percent strikeout rate over his first 33 big-league games.

Calhoun isn't starting Wednesday against the Rockies.

Calhoun started the last three games but went just 1-for-10 with a walk and four strikeouts. He'll get a breather while Bubba Thompson starts in left field and bats ninth.

Lowe went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Rockies.

Lowe's defensive issues persist, but he's more resembling a first baseman with his bat this season. The home run was his career-high 19th, and Lowe's been one of the game's best hitters since the All-Star break. Lowe ranks first in hits (45), fourth in average (.349) and eighth in slugging (.581) over the second half. He's under team control heading into 2023 and there isn't much depth at first base in the system, unless there's a plan to have Josh Jung, who's dabbled at first base in the minors, become permanent there.