MLB Player News

Votto went 1-for-3 with two walks, a two-run home run and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Dodgers.

He parked a Pat Venditte pitch over the right-field wall for his sixth home run of the season. All six of those homers have come in Votto's last 19 games (21 homerless to begin the campaign). The 34-year-old also chipped in the rare stolen base and now has his batting line up to .288/.413/.445. Expect that line to only continue to trend upward.

Smith was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas following Sunday's game against the Phillies, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The Mets have an off-day Monday, and Jay Bruce is going to come off the paternity list prior to Tuesday's game, so sending Smith down now allows him to rejoin Las Vegas a day early. He went 0-for-1 and didn't get a start in two games with the big club. While Smith will be an option the next time the Mets need to summon a bench bat, Peter Alonso is on the verge of passing him on the organizational depth chart with his scorching performance at Double-A Binghamton.

Flores will start at third base and bat fifth Sunday against the Phillies, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Flores will be included in the lineup for a third consecutive game and should remain the Mets' primary option at the hot corner until Todd Frazier (hamstring) is ready to return from the 10-day disabled list. Recent reports have suggested that Frazier will likely be activated by next weekend, so assuming that timetable still holds, Flores should be viewed as more of a short-term pickup than one who can stabilize a corner-infield spot for fantasy owners over the long haul. Flores is hitting .286/.348/.524 with a home run, two RBI and two runs through nine appearances in May.

Bour is not in the lineup Sunday against the Braves, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Bour hasn't pieced together a multi-hit performance since April 22 and holds a career-low .228 average. He has, however, drawn a walk in nearly 19 percent of his plate appearances, which has buoyed his value up to this point. With Bour out of the lineup, Miguel Rojas will pick up a start at first base.

Freeman went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored and three RBI in Saturday's 10-5 win over the Marlins.

Both blasts came off left-hander Jarlin Garcia, giving Freeman eight homers and 31 RBI through 38 games to go along with his impressive .331/.431/.593 slash line. With the young Braves providing plenty of production around him, the 28-year-old first baseman only needs to stay healthy to put together a career season.

Rizzo went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and two runs scored Saturday against the White Sox.

Rizzo's home run came in the first inning off James Shields, opening up a three-run lead before the Cubs made a single out. After a slow start to the season, the first baseman has picked things up lately, earning at least one hit in eight of his last nine games and hitting five homers over that stretch.

Bell hit his third homer of the season -- and second in four games -- Friday against the Giants.

After struggling for much of the time since the Pirates' opening series in Detroit, Bell has strung together a modest four-game hitting streak (5-for-15) with a triple, two homers and four RBI. His 432-foot home run Friday represented the second-longest homer by a Pirate in 2018. Considering Bell totaled just three extra-base hits in his previous 17 starts, the recent power uptick bodes well for fantasy owners.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in a 3-1 loss to the Nationals on Friday.

Goldschmidt's performance represented one of his better ones of late, illustrating the extent of his slump since the calendar flipped to May. Through the Diamondbacks' first 10 games this month, Goldschmidt is slashing just .079/.205/.105, dropping his season OPS to a career-worst .738 OPS. The installation of the humidor at Chase Field this season was expected to result in some decline in Goldschmidt's power production, but the park effects have been perhaps even more pronounced than anticipated. The first baseman has yet to record a home run in 21 games at home, with his .569 OPS at Chase Field representing a 341-point dropoff from his mark on the road.

Smith was called up to the majors Friday.

As expected, Smith is up to replace Jay Bruce, who heads to the paternity list. Whether he'll just be up over the weekend while Bruce is gone or if he'll be up for good is not yet clear. He's hitting .278/.390/.417 in 31 games for Triple-A Las Vegas so far this season.

Smith will be called up Friday to fill in for Jay Bruce while the outfielder is on the paternity list, Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Bruce is expected to miss the entire weekend series in Philadelphia but will return to the team Tuesday. If Smith is only up to replace Bruce, his stay with the team will likely be short, though incumbent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez won't be much of a roadblock should the team decide it's finally Smith's time to take over. Smith had a poor showing in his 49-game debut for the Mets last year, hitting just .198/.262/.395, though he's been solid for Triple-A Las Vegas so far this season, hitting .278/.390/.417 through 31 games.