MLB Player News

Cron is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Marlins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

There's no room in the lineup for the Rays' regular designated hitter with the game being played in a National League park. Cron did get the start at first base Monday with a left-hander on the mound for the Marlins but could remain on the bench Wednesday when the Rays face the right-handed Jose Urena.

Smith (wrist) will start at first base and bat seventh against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Smith had been kept out of the starting nine for the past few games while dealing with a sore wrist, though he was able to pinch hit during Sunday's tilt. Across 18 games with the Mets this year, he's hit .217/.250/.391 with one home run and one RBI.

Abreu (ankle) is not starting Tuesday against the Reds.

Abreu fouled a ball off his left ankle Monday and left the game with what was later diagnosed as an ankle bruise. He's considered day-to-day, but will miss at least one start, with Matt Davidson starting at first base in his place.

Goldschmidt went 4-for-4 with an RBI in the Diamondbacks' 6-3 loss to the Cardinals on Monday.

Goldschmidt tallied nearly half of his team's nine hits on the night, with all going for singles except David Peralta's fourth-inning triple. The first baseman has fallen into a slight power outage of late with only three extra-base knocks in his last eight starts, but he's at least pacified fantasy owners with a .367 average over that span. Goldschmidt's season batting average has climbed 76 points since May 23, moving from .198 all the way to .274.

Cron went 3-for-4 with a game-tying RBI double in the Rays' extra-innings loss to the Marlins on Monday.

Cron laced a clutch two-out double to right field in the ninth that plated Jake Bauers and knotted the score at 2-2. The strong night was a welcome start to July for Cron, who'd endured a forgettable June (.130 average). The 28-year-old hadn't mustered a multi-hit effort since June 1 prior to Monday, and he hadn't managed a three-hit tally all season. It remains to be seen if the impressive performance will lead to a hot streak for Cron, who's now slashing .240/.315/.443 on the season.

Abreu was removed from Monday's tilt against the Reds after suffering a left ankle injury, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Abreu fouled a ball off his left ankle during an at-bat in the sixth inning and was seen hobbling back to the dugout after grounding out, but he stayed in the game until the seventh, when he was replaced by Matt Davidson. Abreu was later diagnosed with a left ankle bruise, and he'll be listed as day-to-day, per Van Schouwen.

Walker was sent down to Triple-A Reno on Monday.

Walker will return to the minors after going 2-for-5 during his first big-league start Sunday. The 27-year-old will likely be back with Arizona later this summer, but was cast off the 25-man roster in order to make room for A.J. Pollock (thumb), who was activated from the 10-day DL in a corresponding move.

Bell is not in the lineup against the Dodgers on Monday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Bell will receive a day off following four straight starts, during which he went 5-for-15 with two RBI and one extra-base hit. In his place, David Freese will pick up a start at first base. Look for Bell to rejoin the starting nine Tuesday.

Walker started in left field and went 2-for-5 with a run scored Sunday in the Diamondbacks' 9-6 loss to the Giants.

Walker picked up just his 11th career start in his 44th game in the big leagues, with the Diamondbacks and Orioles having previously limited him largely to pinch-hitting duties during cups of coffee over the last four-plus seasons. Though he's best suited to play first base, Walker seems likely to pick up any future starts in the corner outfield so long as Paul Goldschmidt remains healthy. The 27-year-old boasts ample power -- as evidenced by the 479-foot tater he hit off Clayton Kershaw back on May 1 -- but his high-strikeout tendencies and lack of defensive prowess in the outfield figure to limit his opportunities while he's up with the big club.

Abreu went 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 10-5 win over the Rangers.

Abreu started the new month in style after saying goodbye to his June slash line of .212/.256/.363. He benefited significantly from runners getting on base ahead of him, as Tim Anderson and Avisail Garcia combined for six hits, giving Abreu an opportunity to drive in two of his three runs on a sacrifice fly and a groundout. The White Sox are 27th in MLB with a .303 on-base percentage, so getting runners on for an RBI-machine like Abreu has been challenging this season.