MLB Player News

Mountcastle was removed from Monday's game against the Yankees for defensive purposes, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Mountcastle returned to the lineup after experiencing cramps Sunday, but his removal from Monday's contest was for defensive purposes as the Orioles sought to protect a two-run lead. Prior to his exit, Mountcastle went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and an RBI.

Smith will sit Monday against the Giants.

Smith has struggled at the plate throughout the year, hitting .189/.274/.243 with zero homers. He'll sit for the third consecutive game, though this one is perhaps more significant as it's the first of that stretch to come against a righty (Alex Cobb). J.D. Davis remains the designated hitter.

The Reds transferred Solano (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list Monday.

The transaction shouldn't alter Solano's timeline for making his Reds debut, as he was already in line to miss the first two months of the season after having yet to resume running at 100 percent since receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in late April to address lingering pain in his left hamstring. Solano hasn't been shut down from activities entirely, but since he still needs to complete his running program, incorporate full on-field baseball activities into his workout regimen and take at-bats in simulated games before heading out on a rehab assignment, he's likely multiple weeks away from coming off the IL.

Mountcastle (body cramps) will start at first base and bat cleanup in Monday's game against the Yankees, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Even though he exited Sunday's 7-6 win over the Rays early just one day after returning from a stint on the injured list due to a left forearm strain, Mountcastle never looked to be in much danger of being unavailable for the series with the Yankees after his early departure Sunday was attributed to heat-related body cramps. With some extra time to rest up and rehydrate, Mountcastle should be ready to play a full nine-inning game Monday.

The Twins promoted Steer from Double-A Wichita to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com reports.

Steer will move up to Triple-A after he produced a .976 OPS in 156 plate appearances for Wichita to begin the 2022 campaign. The OPS represents an increase of more than 200 points from the mark he posted over 280 plate appearances with Wichita in 2021.

Guerrero went 0-for-3 with a walk Sunday in the Blue Jays' 3-2 loss to the Reds.

Since smacking his seventh home run of the season May 5, Guerrero has gone without an extra-base hit, but a 15-game hitting streak from May 2 through May 18 at least allowed him to bring value for fantasy managers in the batting-average category. He wasn't able to keep up that pace in the Blue Jays' weekend series with Cincinnati, however, as he finished the three-game slate with an 0-for-11 mark at the plate. Now sitting on a .262/.347/.434 slash line for the season, the struggling Guerrero could be in line for a day off in the near future.

Ellis started at third base and went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Cubs.

Ellis was called up to start with Josh Rojas dealing with a bruised left hand, and it's his second spin in the majors this season. He replaced Yonny Hernandez on the roster, as Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he preferred Ellis in matchups against opposing pitchers in the coming days.

Naylor went 1-for-2 with a solo homer and a walk in Sunday's 4-2 loss to Detroit.

Naylor started for the first time since May 10 after a trip to the COVID-19 injured list and launched his sixth home run of the season off Alex Faedo in the fourth inning. He also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. The 24-year-old slugger is 15-for-38 (.395) over his last 11 games, improving his season slash line to .351/.395/.649 with 10 extra-base hits and 22 RBI.

Votto went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk in Sunday's 3-2 in over Toronto.

Votto launched his first home run of the year Sunday, taking Yimi Garcia deep with a go-ahead blast in the eighth inning. The lefty slugger now has three extra-base hits in three games since returning from a stint on the injured list. Prior to that, he had just one extra-base hit with a .413 OPS through 22 games.

Higgins went 1-for-3 with a walk, a triple and three RBI in Sunday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Making his first start of the season for the Cubs after getting called up from Triple-A Iowa before the game, Higgins made an immediate impact from the No. 9 spot in the order. The triple was the first of the 29-year-old's MLB career, as were the RBI. Higgins appeared in nine games with Chicago last season, recording just one hit and two walks across 23 at-bats. He should provide some catching depth behind Willson Contreras, who is considered day-to-day with a hamstring strain, and Yan Gomes.