MLB Player News

Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and three walks in Saturday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the White Sox.

With the Athletics trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh, Kurtz took Jordan Leasure deep for a two-run shot to tie the game. It was just Kurtz's second homer of the season, and he's now driven in six runs over the last three contests. After batting .083 over the first seven games of the season, Kurtz has five multi-hit games over his last 13 contests and is now slashing .235/.429/.368 with two long balls, nine RBI, nine runs scored, two stolen bases and a 23:30 BB:K across 91 plate appearances.

De Los Santos will be optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

De Los Santos was recalled April 10 and has started just two games since his promotion. He has one hit across five at-bats in that span, though he'll return to Jacksonville in a corresponding move for the return of Kyle Stowers (oblique) from the injured list.

Rice went 1-for-3 with two walks and a solo home run in Saturday's 13-4 win over the Royals.

Kansas City tried to pitch around the red-hot slugger, but Rice got ahold of a Noah Cameron fastball in the third inning and drove it 398 feet into the second deck in right field. Rice has gone yard in three straight games, and on the season he's slashing .339/.468/.774 with six doubles, seven homers, 17 RBI and 19 runs in 20 contests.

The Astros claimed Harris off waivers from the White Sox on Saturday.

Harris was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Wednesday, but he'll now be a part of the Astros organization after being claimed Saturday. The veteran outfielder has no minor-league options remaining, so he'll be added to the Astros' 26-man active roster and could join the club as soon as Sunday. Prior to being DFA'd, Harris appeared in six games for the White Sox, going 3-for-12 with two steals, one RBI and two runs scored.

The Astros designated France for assignment Saturday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The move makes room on the Astros' 40-man roster for outfielder Dustin Harris, who was claimed off waivers from the White Sox in a corresponding move. France struggled out of the bullpen across three outings with Houston, allowing six runs on six hits and five walks while striking out four in 6.2 innings.

Guerrero picked up a minor finger injury in Friday's loss to the Brewers, but Blue Jays manager John Schneider indicated after the game that the first baseman is expected to be in the lineup Saturday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Guerrero's left index finger clipped Jorge Barrosa on a play at first base, but he remained in the game Friday and doesn't look like he'll miss any time. Toronto can ill afford to lose Guerrero given all their other injuries, and through 19 games he's slashing .319/.427/.420 with one homer and eight RBI.

The Mets recalled Senger from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday.

With Jorge Polanco (wrist) headed to the injured list, the Mets will bring up Senger to give the big club another option to work as a DH and extra depth behind the plate. The 29-year-old has started strong in the minors, slashing .257/.316/.714 with five homers, 11 RBI and eight runs scored through 12 games.

The Mets placed Polanco on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right wrist contusion, retroactive to Wednesday.

Polanco has been dealing with a nagging Achilles injury all season, but he got imaging done on his right wrist Friday, and although he seems to be dealing with just a bruise, the Mets will put him on the IL anyway. MJ Melendez is a candidate to see more time at DH while Polanco is sidelined, and Hayden Senger will come up from Triple-A to round out the active roster.

Smith went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's win over the Phillies.

The 30-year-old got hold of a splitter up in the zone from Taijuan Walker in the third inning, giving Smith his fourth homer of the season. He's put together a blistering start to the season as Atlanta's primary DH against right-handed pitching, slashing .362/.380/.660 over 50 plate appearances with 10 runs and 16 RBI, but Smith's playing time will likely take a hit once Sean Murphy (hip) is cleared to come off the IL.

Steer isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game versus Minnesota.

Steer will catch a breather Saturday after going 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts across his last two games. While he sits, Will Benson, TJ Friedl and Rece Hinds will form Cincinnati's outfield trio.