MLB Player News

Abreu (neck) is starting Friday's game against Cleveland.

Abreu was held out of Thursday's contest due to a stiff neck, but he'll play first base and bat third Friday. The 34-year-old has gone 0-for-14 with a run, two walks and three strikeouts across his last four games.

France, who went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday, owns a .375 average, .913 OPS and minuscule 9.4 percent strikeout rate in the 53 plate appearances covering his last 12 games.

France also has multi-hit efforts in exactly half of those contests, with the only possible quibble with his numbers being the fact he only has three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run) during that span. Nevertheless, the hot-hitting infielder now owns a rock-solid .278/.356/.421 slash line on the season, and his respective .331 and .333 averages with men on base and men in scoring position have helped lead to 44 RBI over 93 games.

Guerrero went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Red Sox.

Guerrero launched a three-run shot off Boston reliever Phillips Valdez in the fifth inning to extend Toronto's cushion to 9-0. It was the 33rd home of the year for Guerrero, but his first in the last seven games. Despite that brief power outage, Guerrero is hitting a league-leading .328 with a 1.086 OPS in 424 plate appearances this season and will take a six-game hitting streak into Friday's home matchup with Kansas City.

Rizzo was traded from the Cubs to the Yankees in exchange for Kevin Alcantara and Alexander Vizcaino (arm) on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The Cubs had been in talks with the Red Sox about a trade involving Rizzo leading up to Friday's deadline, but he'll head to their AL East rival. The 31-year-old spent the last 10 seasons with the Cubs, and he's slashed .248/.346/.446 with 14 homers, 41 runs and 40 RBI in 92 games to begin the 2021 campaign. He'll add another strong left-handed bat to the Yankees' lineup after they acquired Joey Gallo from the Rangers on Wednesday, and he should take over as the team's starting first baseman.

Mountcastle isn't in the lineup Thursday against the Tigers, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Mountcastle will get a chance to reset after he went 1-for-12 with a walk and four strikeouts across the last three games. Trey Mancini will start at first base while DJ Stewart serves as the designated hitter.

Voit (knee) hit against Luis Severino (elbow) in a simulated game Thursday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Injuries have limited Voit to just 29 games this season, in which he's hit a disappointing .241/.328/.370. His latest absence, the result of a bone bruise and inflammation in his left knee, doesn't look as though it will keep him out much longer, though it remains unclear exactly when he'll be activated.

Through eight games since moving up to Triple-A Omaha, Pratto has gone 10-for-31 (.323) with three homers, four doubles, 12 RBI, eight runs and a 5:7 BB:K.

Pratto has posted five-RBI efforts in two of his last three games, so he's still absolutely mashing minor-league pitching. The 22-year-old is having a major breakout season after hitting .191 in High-A two years ago, but he's blocked at both first base and DH at the major-league level for now. He's also got slightly concerning platoon splits, as Pratto -- a left-handed hitter -- is batting .226 (albeit with good power) against southpaws this year. It's not a perfect prospect profile, but Pratto has enough power to make fantasy managers take notice.

Vaughn will bat fifth and play second base Thursday against the Royals.

It's certainly a fun curiosity that a player who was thought to be a defensively-limited first baseman has spent most of his rookie season in the outfield and will now start a game as a middle infielder. That said, this could well be the only game Vaughn starts at second base in his career, and he's very unlikely to pick up positional eligibility there in most fantasy formats, as the White Sox acquired Cesar Hernandez in a trade with Cleveland on Thursday. Hernandez should spend the rest of the year as the primary second baseman once he links up with his new team.

Abreu isn't starting Thursday's game against the Royals due to neck stiffness, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Abreu has gone 0-for-14 with a run, two walks and three strikeouts across the last four games, and he's dealing with a neck issue that will force him out of the lineup Thursday. Whether he's available off the bench remains to be seen, but Gavin Sheets will shift to first base while Brian Goodwin starts in right field.

O'Hearn isn't in the lineup Thursday against the White Sox.

O'Hearn started the last two games and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts, but he'll head back to the bench with left-hander Carlos Rodon starting Thursday. Jorge Soler will shift to right field while Salvador Perez serves as the designated hitter.