MLB Player News

Flores (knee) is expected to be placed on the 10-day DL, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

The Mets have yet to formally announce the move, but it sounds like Flores will need more than a week to recover from an infection in his knee joint. With Lucas Duda (elbow) also injured, it appears the team will lean on Jay Bruce at first base in the short term and a combination of Jose Reyes and T.J. Rivera at third base.

Joseph went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run during Thursday's win over the Mets.

It was just the second multi-hit game of the campaign for Joseph, and he now sports an underwhelming .208/.250/.313 slash line. He's primarily batted sixth this season and hit 21 home runs through just 347 plate appearances as a rookie last year, so there is power and RBI potential here. However, expecting a significant improvement in the batting average column is likely ill-advised.

Flores will be out at least two games after spending Wednesday night in the hospital due to an infection in his knee, The New York Daily News reports. "The infection is in the joint," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "These types of infections, that's where they go. I've unfortunately been around them, and they can be very bad unless they're taken care of immediately. So he's unavailable tonight [Thursday]. He may be unavailable tomorrow [Friday]. Depending on what it is and if they get it cleaned, he could be another day. But he won't be around for today and tomorrow."

Flores had been feeling discomfort in the knee for a couple of days before having it checked out. The timing is bad for the Mets, as Lucas Duda is also sidelined after hyper-extending his left elbow. Jay Bruce will fill in at first base while both Duda and Flores are out, but it appears at least the latter has avoided a more serious, and lengthy, absence.

Santana went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run during Thursday's win over Minnesota.

While it's been a mediocre start for Santana (.254/.315/.433 slash line), he's gone 9-for-24 with three runs, two doubles, a home run and seven RBI over his past five games. Additionally, leading off hasn't hurt his RBI opportunities and improves his upside to score runs. It's also a boon in daily contests. With a career .364 on-base percentage entering Thursday, Santana has more value in leagues that count OBP.

Flores is dealing with an infection and is unavailable to play Thursday against the Phillies, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Lucas Duda is dealing with a hyperextended wrist, so had Flores been healthy, he would have likely filled in at first base for Thursday's contest. However, he's unavailable due to an unspecified infection. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Gurriel is out of Thursday's lineup against the Angels.

He is hitting .279, but has just two extra-base hits and one home run through 43 at-bats. The Astros will opt to keep Marwin Gonzalez's bat in the lineup against righty Matt Shoemaker following the return of Carlos Correa, but Gurriel still figures to get the start at first base most days going forward.

Abreu went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Wednesday's 9-1 loss to the Yankees.

Abreu entered Wednesday's game with a .380 OPS and had been 2-for-31 in the first eight games of the White Sox's road trip. So, having the slugger snap out of his funk, even a little bit, was an encouraging sign for manager Rick Renteria.

Freeman went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 14-4 loss to the Nats.

His third-inning solo shot off Joe Ross, his sixth homer of the season, set a new franchise record as Freeman reached base in his 12th consecutive plate appearance. The first baseman has been carrying the Atlanta offense so far, slashing .440/.533/.920 through 14 games, but it's a testament to how cold the top of the order has been that he's only got eight RBI.

Calhoun is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.

This is hardly a surprise considering the Angels are facing a tough lefty in Dallas Keuchel and Calhoun is coming off another 0-fer Tuesday -- a four-strikeout showing against Houston. Calhoun's average has dropped nearly 100 points (from .316 to .218) over the course of the last five games. He is 1-for-12 against southpaws so far after batting .290/.366/.465 against left-handed pitching last season.

Bell went 1-for-4 with a solo home run -- his first of the season -- during Wednesday's loss to St. Louis.

Pittsburgh is going to need Bell to continue making a difference at the dish after the 80-game ban of Starling Marte was announced Tuesday. Bell showed promise as a rookie last season, and especially by walking more times than he struck out (21:19 BB:K). He sports a mini three-game hitting streak (4-for-12), and with the potential of earning a consistent gig in the top half of the Pirates' lineup, Bell is going to be handed an opportunity to succeed.