MLB Player News

Hoskins was selected to play for the United States in the Futures Game on July 9, Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Hoskins is hitting .304/.401/.601 with 18 home runs in 273 at-bats for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. He's ready for a shot in the majors, but Tommy Joseph is doing a fine job at first base for the Phillies, leaving Hoskins with no spot to play. The Phillies will likely have to remedy their first base situation in the offseason by trading one of the two sluggers.

Rizzo is batting third and playing first base Thursday against the Nationals.

The first baseman had been excelling while leading off, but with the sudden rash of Cubs injuries -- chiefly to masher Kris Bryant (sprained ankle) -- Rizzo was needed again in the middle of the order.

Gurriel is not in Thursday's lineup for the series finale against Oakland.

Gurriel has been mashing the ball this entire month, hitting .322/.323/.556 with four home runs, 14 RBI and 13 runs, but hasn't truly spent a game out of the lineup since June 19. Manager A.J. Hinch will give Gurriel a day off in favor of Marwin Gonzalez on Thursday.

Rizzo went 1-for-4 with a home run in Wednesday's loss to the Nationals.

After getting bumped down to No. 2 in the order Monday, Rizzo has now batted leadoff the last two games, and it looks like manager Joe Maddon is pretty comfortable with his first baseman there. Rizzo now has 18 home runs this season, and while batting first could limit his RBI potential, he should still supply plenty of power and maybe an uptick in runs.

Olson went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and three strikeouts against the Astros on Wednesday.

That marks the rookie's third consecutive three-strikeout game, and he's now 5-for-32 (.156) in the majors this season. Olson has a good eye and he's flashed noteworthy power in the minors, but the 23-year-old doesn't looked well prepared for the majors just yet. However, the A's are going nowhere, so they can afford to stick with him and see if he can find a way to make more contact.

Cabrera exited Wednesday's game against the Marlins early with leg cramps, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer before being replaced by Matt Reynolds in the eighth inning. The Mets were up by eight runs when he was subbed out, so it's possible the move was simply precautionary. Consider him day-to-day for the time being.

Freeman (wrist) was able to take batting practice on the field before Wednesday's game against the Padres, Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan reports.

Freeman said he felt good after, giving him confidence that he'll be able to return for next Thursday's series opener against the Nationals. "Obviously that was what I wanted to do and now I think it's going to happen," the corner infielder said when asked about him coming off the DL next week. He'll still wait to see how he does during his rehab assignment before returning to action, but barring any setbacks, it seems like Freeman could be back with the Braves when they head to Washington on July 6.

Joseph went 1-for-4 with a home run and walk in Wednesday's 5-4 win in Seattle.

After working a full count, Joseph turned on a 98-mph fastball from Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, clubbing a game-tying home run over the left field fence. The Phillies eventually won on an Andrew Knapp RBI single later in the inning. Joseph offers good power numbers - he has 13 home runs and 12 doubles - but he's lacking in the other categories. He has just 38 RBI and is hitting .250 for the season. Until he improves on his 25 percent K rate, Joseph will be a single-category fantasy asset, especially at first base.

Carter was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

It's been quite the fall for Carter, who went from hitting 41 home runs with the Brewers in 2016 to going unclaimed off waivers less than a year later. The first baseman is still capable of supplying power, but his climbing strikeout rate (a career-high 37 percent this season) and lack of defensive utility make him an unappealing bench bat for many teams, at least while he's owed $3 million in 2017. He'll need to curb the strikeouts and provide home-run production on a more regular basis in order to earn another look from the Yankees.

Abreu went 2-for-5 with three RBI, including a two-run, walk-off single in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Yankees.

Abreu delivered the game-winning knock off New York reliever Dellin Betances with two outs to snap Chicago's four-game losing streak. Lately, delivering with runners in scoring position has been the rule more than the exception for Abreu, who's plated 21 runners over the last 21 games.