MLB Player News

Voit was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

While Voit has maintained a respectable .783 OPS over 43 games since receiving the call to the majors, the Cardinals hadn't been able to find regular starts for the first baseman, who has picked up just 23 at-bats in 18 games during August. The 26-year-old will get the chance to take back an everyday role with Memphis for the next week or so before presumably rejoining the Cardinals as a September call-up.

Bell went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI on Sunday in a 6-3 win over St. Louis at the Little League Classic.

Bell played the hero in front of a few thousand lucky fans in Williamsport, smacking a two-run bomb in the first inning off Cardinals starter Mike Leake before singling in a couple more runs in the third. He's been productive of late with 13 RBI over his last nine contests, giving the first baseman an impressive 72 in his sophomore season.

Bour (oblique) will resume baseball activities this week, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

He has been on the disabled list since July 25 with a strain of his right oblique, and it will be interesting to see if the Marlins push Bour back into action prior to the expansion of rosters on Sept. 1. Tomas Telis and Tyler Moore will continue to handle the bulk of the starts at first base in Bour's absence.

Joseph is out of Sunday's lineup against the Giants, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

He will sit for the second game in a row in favor of Rhys Hoskins at first base. The plan when Hoskins was originally promoted was for him to play primarily left field, but he has been so impressive (four home runs in 10 games) that the Phillies may have decided that he no longer needs to defer to Joseph at first base. It doesn't help that Joseph is in a 5-for-56 (.089) funk over his last 16 games.

Cabrera is out of Sunday's lineup against the Marlins.

He has started the last nine games, hitting .303 with two doubles and zero home runs over that stretch. Gavin Cecchini will start at second base and hit eighth.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored during Saturday's win over Miami.

The rookie is now 5-for-29 (.172 batting average) with two homers, three RBI and a .579 OPS since being promoted from the minors. Smith should continue to see regular playing time and offers admirable upside after posting a .330/.386/.519 slash line with Triple-A Las Vegas this year. However, it's still probably a little early to look his way in the majority of seasonal settings.

Flores went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Saturday's win over Miami.

Flores is now up to eight homers, 15 RBI, 12 runs and a .292/.350/.667 slash line through his past 24 games. He's locked into full-time at-bats moving forward and also offers lineup flexibility because of his eligibility at multiple positions. Flores has the potential to be a game changer down the fantasy stretch drive.

Hoskins went 1-for-3 with a homer, two walks, three RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Giants.

The 24-year-old is now up to four home runs this week. He's done most of his damage against lefties -- three of his four homers have come against southpaws -- but Hoskins was even better against right-handers than he was against left-handed pitching with Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to his promotion. Hoskins is expected to play more at first base once Aaron Altherr (hamstring) is ready to go.

Joseph is not in the lineup Saturday against the Giants.

Joseph has struggled over his last five starts, going just 1-for-19 with a walk, so he'll get the day off to clear his head. Jorge Alfaro is starting at first base in his stead, batting sixth.

Hiura landed on the 7-day disabled list with a mild left hamstring strain Friday, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports.

Although any sort of injury for a top prospect is concerning, Hiura's issue seems minor. The 21-year-old has been playing at Low-A Wisconsin for the past month and tearing it up for the Timber Rattlers, hitting .347/.385/.484 with 15 RBI and 13 runs in 24 games.