MLB Player News

Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in a 3-1 loss to the Nationals on Friday.

Goldschmidt's performance represented one of his better ones of late, illustrating the extent of his slump since the calendar flipped to May. Through the Diamondbacks' first 10 games this month, Goldschmidt is slashing just .079/.205/.105, dropping his season OPS to a career-worst .738 OPS. The installation of the humidor at Chase Field this season was expected to result in some decline in Goldschmidt's power production, but the park effects have been perhaps even more pronounced than anticipated. The first baseman has yet to record a home run in 21 games at home, with his .569 OPS at Chase Field representing a 341-point dropoff from his mark on the road.

Smith was called up to the majors Friday.

As expected, Smith is up to replace Jay Bruce, who heads to the paternity list. Whether he'll just be up over the weekend while Bruce is gone or if he'll be up for good is not yet clear. He's hitting .278/.390/.417 in 31 games for Triple-A Las Vegas so far this season.

Mountcastle (hand) was activated from the disabled list at Double-A Bowie and went 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI Thursday against Hartford.

He suffered a broken hand midway through spring training, and this was his first game back. Mountcastle isn't a great defender anywhere on the diamond (he played third base in this one), but he has the potential to hit for average and for power, which would allow his bat to profile at third base or in left field. He is on pace to reach the majors in early 2019.

Smith will be called up Friday to fill in for Jay Bruce while the outfielder is on the paternity list, Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Bruce is expected to miss the entire weekend series in Philadelphia but will return to the team Tuesday. If Smith is only up to replace Bruce, his stay with the team will likely be short, though incumbent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez won't be much of a roadblock should the team decide it's finally Smith's time to take over. Smith had a poor showing in his 49-game debut for the Mets last year, hitting just .198/.262/.395, though he's been solid for Triple-A Las Vegas so far this season, hitting .278/.390/.417 through 31 games.

Santana went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer Thursday against the Giants.

The homer, a fourth-inning shot off Ty Blach, was Santana's sixth of the year and his third in the four-game series against San Francisco. Through May 2, Santana was having a very disappointing season, hitting just .151 with two homers and a .569 OPS. Since then, he's gone on a seven-game hitting streak, going 10-for-30 with four homers and 15 RBI over the span of a week, enough to drag his OPS up to .714. That number would certainly be disappointing should it not climb any higher by the end of the year, but the recent hot streak combined with encouraging batted-ball data during Santana's early slump gives reason to believe that the veteran will eventually live up to his draft price.

Freeman went 5-for-5 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Marlins.

Freeman only had one extra-base hit Thursday, but made it count by blasting his sixth home run of the season. He remains one of the most complete hitters in the league, ranking top 10 in the National League in batting average, runs and RBI while hitting .326/.424/.558.

Cron went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Braves on Wednesday.

Cron continues to serve as one of the Rays' steadiest sources of offense, as factoring in Wednesday's production, he's now reached base safely in 15 straight games. The 28-year-old has compiled 12 extra-base hits (five doubles, seven home runs) overall, and his current .201 ISO represents a career high.

Santana went 3-for-5 with a double and five RBI in Wednesday's win over the Giants.

Santana is finally starting to break out of his season-long slump, as he had a four-RBI game earlier in the week and is hitting 9-for-26 (.346) with three homers and 12 RBI amidst a six-game hitting streak. The 32-year-old has just a .189 BABIP, suggesting he's been suffering from a stroke of bad luck, so once that number starts to creep up the rest of his game should follow along with it, which seems to already be happening.

Gurriel went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's win over the Athletics.

Gurriel was also caught stealing in this one in what was his first attempt of the season. After a slow start in April, the 33-year-old is now riding an 11 game hitting streak -- with extra-base hits in five of those -- and has upped his slash line to .284/.324/.411.

Rizzo went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and five RBI in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Marlins.

Despite a .210/.282/.371 slash line on the season, Rizzo has been able to stay productive with 13 runs and 19 RBI in 25 games. He's hitting .355 (11-for-31) over his last seven contests with four of his five homers on the season, though, and the first baseman's batting average should climb quickly now that he's busted out of his slump.