MLB Player News

Flores is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cubs.

With Jarrod Dyson entering the lineup in center field, Ketel Marte will shift to the middle infield for the afternoon and bump Flores to the bench in the process. Flores could see his playing time drop after the Diamondbacks acquired utility man Blake Swihart from the Red Sox on Friday. Swihart will join the team in Pittsburgh for Arizona's series opener Monday against the Pirates and could be the mix for starts at second base in light of Flores' struggles this season.

Diaz went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run in a loss to the Red Sox on Friday.

Diaz slotted into the top of the order Friday and fulfilled the table-setting responsibilities inherent in that role well. The emerging infielder is now hitting .333 out of the leadoff spot this season and has reached safely in 10 consecutive games.

Cooper (calf) is hitting and fielding while doing some mild running, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

"He's progressing along, that's for sure," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Friday. "He was doing some outfield drills today. He's already been taking ground balls and hitting. He's doing running progression and will do curves either today or tomorrow." Cooper's rehab so far has taken place in Miami under the eyes of the Marlins' trainers, but he's expected to head to the team's spring training complex in Jupiter next week while the club is on the road. The 28-year-old will need to get in some rehab games before rejoining the big club, and a concrete timetable for his activation won't become clear until then.

Abreu and the White Sox won't play Saturday against the Tigers after the game was postponed due to inclement weather in Detroit, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The two teams will make up the game as part of a doubleheader Aug. 6. Expect Abreu to return to action in Sunday's series finale.

Abreu went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-3 win over the Tigers.

The runs batted in were the 499th and 500th of Abreu's career. The career achievement is nice, but Abreu has struggled the last two weeks. He entered Friday's game on a 3-for-36 (.083) stretch with one RBI over the previous 10 games and is hitting .189 for the season. "Just chasing pitches,'' manager Rick Renteria told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times when asked about the No. 3 hitter in his lineup. "Chasing balls out of the zone, not typical for him, breaking balls below the hitting zone. Trying to get him to change his eye level.'' Chicago's No. 1 and No. 2 hitters are batting .306 and .346, respectively, so there are RBI opportunities for Abreu.

White (hip flexor) is on the minor-league injured list at Double-A Arkansas but is progressing well and headed for activation early next week, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

White was raking to open the season, as he'd slashed .308/.367/.385 with two doubles and three RBI over his first 29 plate appearances before the injury. The 2017 first-round pick has been on the fast track since joining the organization, and a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma before season's end thus wouldn't be out of the question if his early numbers endure over the long term.

Alonso went 2-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 5-4 win over the Cardinals.

His sixth-inning blast off Ryan Helsley proved to be the difference, giving the Mets a 5-1 lead that just held up after St. Louis mounted a comeback. Alonso had gone just 4-for-20 with a double over the prior six games, creating a bit of worry that major-league pitchers were beginning to figure him out, but the rookie still has an impressive seven homers and a .333/.425/.739 slash line through his first 19 contests.

Olson (hand) took swings off a tee with his normal bat Friday, Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

This marks another step forward for Olson, who had previously been taking swings with a fungo bat. Although this marks a small victory for the first baseman, he still has a long road ahead of him before returning from the injured list.

Rizzo went 1-for-2 with a triple, two walks and an RBI in Friday's 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rizzo's first triple of the season brought home the Cubs' third run of the game in the fourth inning. The 29-year-old slugger is struggling to begin the year with a .169 batting average, but perhaps reaching base three times will help him get on a hot streak.

Tellez isn't in Friday's starting lineup against the Athletics.

Tellez will get the night off after collecting just two hits in his past 18 at-bats (six games). Randal Grichuk will slot in as the designated hitter and bat third in his place, allowing for Socrates Brito to draw the start in center field.