MLB Player News

The idea of the Phillies trading struggling first baseman Ryan Howard at some point this season is starting to look doubtful, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman on Friday.

Howard is off to a rough start, and was bumped down to the No. 7 spot in the batting order. He is hitting .167 (5 for 32) with three doubles and one RBI in eight games. Scouts believe that Howard's timing has been off this season.

"He looks lost," one scout said. "Sometimes big guys just lose it, just like that."

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores went 1 for 4 with a three-run home run in his team's 7-5 win over the Marlins Thursday.

"Tonight was a big step forward for him," Collins said of Flores after the game, per MLB.com. "It was huge for us, and also for Wilmer. There has been a lot written about how high expectations are for him offensively, and you have to live up to expectations. I think tonight might really jumpstart him."

Flores came up with two men on and his team down three runs in the fifth inning and was able to tie the game with his first home run of the season. He has hit .172/.250/.310 while collecting four runs. His three RBI Thursday were his first of the season.

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg bumped struggling first baseman Ryan Howard down to seventh in the batting order for Thursday's contest against the Nationals. Howard batted cleanup in his first seven games with the Phillies before receiving the night off on Wednesday.

Howard mired in a 4-for-27 slump with three doubles, 10 strikeouts and no walks in seven games. It will be the first time he'll hit seventh in the order since April 21, 2006, per MLB.com.

"I talked to him this afternoon and just told him, 'Hey, it's creating a lineup, trying to win the baseball game,'" Sandberg said. "And so [I told him], 'In the meantime, just keep working.' Howie's doing everything that's asked on the defensive side of the ball, and the offensive side of the ball. If he could get hot, then I'd have some flexibility and choices in the lineup, so that would be the best scenario."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt wasted little time Wednesday getting Arizona on the scoreboard, as he connected for a two-run homer off Padres starting pitcher Brandon Morrow in the bottom of the first inning. 

"Just trying to put the ball in play," he said, per MLB.com. "I was able to get a ball kind of up and out, over, and get enough of it to get it out of there."

The home run marked the 500th hit of Goldschmidt's career. However, he wasn't in the mood to talk about the career milestone after the game since Arizona ended up taking a 3-2 loss.

"Honestly, no," he said when asked if the 500 hits meant anything to him. "I wouldn't have known unless you said something or somebody said something to me after the game. Just out there, we're trying to get wins, and we weren't able to do it tonight."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run during Wednesday night's 3-2 loss to the Padres. 

Goldschmidt hit his homer in the first inning, which also scored Ender Inciarte. Goldschmidt went 2 of 4 in the game, also hitting a single. His other two at-bats ended in strikeouts. 

The home run was Goldschmidt's third of the season and he now has totaled nine RBI. 

He has a slash line of .344/.447/.656 through Arizona's first nine games of the season. 

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run home run during Wednesday night's 5-0 win over the Reds. 

Rizzo hit his homer in the first inning, scoring himself and Dexter Fowler. Rizzo finished the game 1 for 4. He now holds a slash line of .240/.429/.360. 

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg wants to see more production from first baseman Ryan Howard, reports Philly.com.

Howard, who is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game, is scuffling along with a .148 average in 27 at-bats so far this year. Sandberg said although Howard is getting closer to the plate in the batter's box, he needs to be more aggressive when he sees fastballs.

"The amount of fastballs that he's getting, for me he should look fastball and really disregard the breaking ball until he gets two strikes," Sandberg said.

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg gave struggling first baseman Ryan Howard the night off Wednesday against the Mets, per MLB.com.

Howard went 0 for 3 on Tuesday, starting the season mired in a 4-for-27 slump. He has three doubles, 10 strikeouts and no walks in seven games. He also started the year on a 4-for-27 drought in 2013.

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores is dealing with a sore hand, but will be able to play in Wednesday's game against the Phillies, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Flores was hit by a pitch in the second inning by David Buchanan, but was able to stay in the game Tuesday. He went 0 for 2 with a run scored and is hitting .160 this season.

Through the Phillies' first seven games, veterans Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are a combined 6 for 43 with no home runs and four RBI.

"It sucks," Howard said of their coinciding slumps, per The Philadelphia Daily News. "Yeah, it sucks. Obviously, we want to get off to a better start. We're what, six or seven games in? It's definitely going to turn around. Nobody plans on trying to get off to a slow start.

"The only thing we can do is keep grinding and keep swinging, try to put together good at-bats. We've had opportunities, you just have to come through in other situations."

This is the worst start of Utley's career, while it is the second worst of Howard's. Utley is 2 for 22 with six strikeouts, two walks and no extra-base hits, while Howard is 4 for 24 with three doubles, eight strikeouts and no walks. In 2013, Howard began the season mired in a 4-for-27 slump.

"It's just a matter of time with Chase," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "I have no worries there. He gets quality at-bats. And no worries there. Chase will be fine. We just need to create some opportunities with men on base for those guys in the middle of the lineup."