MLB Player News

Mountcastle (hand) is getting close to joining a minor-league affiliate, Steve Melewski of MASN Sports reports.

Mountcastle has been sidelined all season with a hairline fracture in his right hand, but he's inching closer to making his 2018 debut. The top prospect has been playing in games at extended spring training over the past couple of days, and if he continues to do so with no issues, he should be cleared to join a minor-league affiliate in the coming weeks. He's still looking at a mid-May return.

Stassi was placed on the temporarily inactive list for Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, Brandon Warne of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

No word has come forth as to why he's inactive, but the minor-league rules regarding inactivity are relatively loose. Stassi was batting .226 with two homers and 10 RBI prior to this move.

Voit was called up to the big leagues Tuesday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old appeared in 62 games in his big-league debut for the Cardinals last season, hitting a mediocre .246/.306/.430 with four homers. He was hitting just .205/.354/.256 to start the year for Triple-A Memphis. Voit is pretty much a pure first baseman (with a single start in left field this year being the only exception since 2016) but Jose Martinez is firmly entrenched in that role at the big-league level, so don't expect him to be much more than a bench bat during his stay with the Cardinals. Mike Mayers was optioned to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move.

Rizzo is starting at first base and batting leadoff Tuesday against the Rockies.

Rizzo is off to a very slow start to the season, hitting just .149/.259/.189 with one homer through 18 games, so manager Joe Maddon will bump him up to the top of the order in an attempt to get him going at the plate. Maddon did something similar last season and Rizzo responded well, going 15-for-50 with five homers and 12 RBI in the leadoff spot.

Bour (back) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Bour took batting practice Monday and was hoping to return to action Tuesday, but he'll remain sidelined for a fourth straight game as he continues to deal back spasms. The fact that he was eyeing Tuesday as a return date suggests that he's nearing a return and won't need a stint on the DL, though a DL stint has not been ruled out. Derek Dietrich will once again start at first base in his stead, hitting cleanup.

Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a triple, walk and two runs for Double-A New Hampshire in its 7-2 win over Reading on Monday.

After setting the Midwest and Florida State Leagues ablaze as an 18-year-old in 2017, Guerrero entered the season as a clear top-five prospect in all of baseball due to his unmatched hit and power tools. Based on how Guerrero has performed since moving to New Hampshire this season, it appears safe to conclude that he'll be a consensus No. 1 for all prospect hounds once Ronald Acuna and Shohei Ohtani log enough at-bats and innings, respectively, in the majors to exhaust their eligibility. Guerrero has raised his long-term ceiling to even more ridiculous heights by supplying a 1.024 OPS and posting a 10:10 BB:K in 96 plate appearances at Double-A. The third baseman already looks like he might be capable of holding his own in the majors, but a promotion to the Blue Jays in 2018 may be contingent on the team staying in the thick of postseason contention.

Bell went 0-for-4 against Washington on Monday, dropping his batting average to a season-low .232 in 112 at-bats.

Since starting 2018 with a six-game hitting streak, the first baseman has slashed .193/.260/.261 in his last 96 plate appearances. He's collected just seven extra-base hits, including one homer, with an .089 ISO -- well below his career mark (.181 ISO). In three seasons, Bell has hit .232 through June and .270 thereafter. The sample is small but it's possible the 25-year-old native Texan simply hits better in warm weather. He continues to bat exclusively from the cleanup spot as Pittsburgh has shown no signs of wavering with the switch hitter.

Cron went 1-for-4 with a go-ahead, two-run home run in a win over the Tigers on Monday.

Cron blasted a Shane Greene offering 401 feet to right center with Denard Span aboard in the ninth inning, breaking up a pitchers' duel and giving the Rays a 2-0 lead. The round tripper extended Cron's hitting streak to eight games, a span during which he's racked up five of his seven homers on the season.

Bour (back) took batting practice Monday with the hope of returning to the lineup Tuesday, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

It seems like Bour is progressing without issue in his recovery program. He's been out of action since Saturday, though it seems like he's very close to returning to action and will not need a stint on the disabled list. Derek Dietrich will fill in for him at first base for Monday night, but monitor Bour's status closely as Tuesday's game time approaches.

Santana is starting at first base and hitting fifth Monday against the Marlins, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Santana has gotten off to an extremely slow start to the season, as evidenced by his .160/.305/.287 line with two homers through 27 games, so manager Gabe Kapler decided to drop him a few spots in the order in an attempt to get him going. This is just the second time all season Santana hasn't hit in the two hole, which is being occupied by Rhys Hoskins on Monday.