MLB Player News

Freeman will be on the bench Wednesday against Toronto.

Freeman missed most of summer camp while battling COVID-19 but was immediately thrust into an everyday role at the beginning of the regular season, starting each of the Braves' first 12 games. He understandably hasn't been performing up to his usual standards, hitting just .195/.353/.317. Austin Riley will slide to first base in his absence, with Johan Camargo starting at third.

Voit is not starting the afternoon portion of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Phillies.

Expanded rosters mean the Yankees won't have to ask many players to start two games in one day. Mike Ford will be the first basemen for Game 1 of the doubleheader, but Voit will likely be in the lineup for Game 2.

Bell went 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts in Tuesday's 7-3 loss to the Twins.

He has just one extra-base hit in 43 plate appearances thus far in 2020. Furthermore, Bell is batting .224 in his last 459 at-bats, dating back to July of 2019. He's a streaky hitter and could be primed for a strong run, but fantasy owners looking for consistency have been let down by the switch hitter.

Cronenworth is likely to earn more time at second base once Eric Hosmer returns from the injured list, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in his newsletter. "That's safe to say," manager Jayce Tingler said. "He's earning his time. He's earning it with his glove and his at-bats ... He continues to play like that, he's going to play quite a bit."

Cronenworth impressed the Padres with his work ethic during the shutdown and has continued to do so in this short season. He's been playing first base while Hosmer has been out, with Jurickson Profar and Greg Garcia sharing the second base duties, but he'll slide over and still get starts at second once Hosmer returns.

Guerrero went 2-for-3 with a walk, two doubles and a run scored in Tuesday's 10-1 loss to Atlanta.

The 21-year-old has struggled to make hard contact to begin the season, so this performance was encouraging -- especially on a night when the Jays only managed five hits in total. Guerrero is hitting .219 (7-for-32) through eight games as he searches for a way to translate his dominant minor-league numbers to the majors.

Naylor went 1-for-2 with a stolen base and a hit-by-pitch in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Naylor was plunked by Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen in the eighth inning and promptly stole second, but Treinen was able to prevent him from scoring. It's the first steal of the year for Naylor, who isn't known for his speed. The 23-year-old has mostly seen time off the bench this year -- he's batting .231 with no RBI and one run scored in 14 plate appearances.

Cronenworth went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Cronenworth's first homer of the year gave the Padres a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. The 26-year-old has filled in admirably at first base while Eric Hosmer (illness) has been out. Cronenworth is batting .333 with three RBI and five runs scored in six games this season, but he'll likely return to a bench role when Hosmer is able to return.

Solano isn't in the lineup Tuesday against the Rockies.

Solano has been on a tear at the plate this season, riding a nine-game hitting streak while logging a 1.163 OPS with a home run and 13 RBI during that time. However, he'll get a breather Tuesday with Mauricio Dubon starting at the keystone, batting eighth.

Tellez isn't in the lineup Tuesday against Atlanta.

Tellez has served as the Blue Jays' primary designated hitter to begin the season and is currently riding a four-game hit streak. However, Lourdes Gurriel will shift to designated hitter Tuesday with Anthony Alford taking over in left field and batting ninth.

Diaz, who's slashing .167/.359/.167 through his first 39 plate appearances of 2020, has seen a drop in several key batted-ball metrics thus far this season, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The entire Rays offense has scuffled of late, scoring a total of 14 runs during a just-concluded five-game road trip. However, Toribio points out Diaz is one of the poorest performers at present, and the reasons for his struggles seem to at least partly lie in a lack of authority when making contact. The 28-year-old, who broke out for a career-best 14 home runs in 79 games last season, has an average exit velocity of 82.1 mph, a sharp drop from a figure of 91.7 mph in 2019. Diaz's hard-contact rate has also tumbled from 42.4 percent to 36.0 percent year over year, all factors which certainly seem to be playing a role in an unusually low .200 BABIP. Diaz has yet to log an extra-base hit after lacing 35 last season, but perhaps his 3-for-8 tally over the last two games is a sign a resurgence is imminent.