MLB Player News

Phillies team officials have discussed buying out the remainder of first baseman Ryan Howard's contract and moving forward without him after the season, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia reports.

The Phillies have floated Howard's name in trade walks, but no teams are interested in taking on the $60 million owed to the first baseman over the next two seasons. Howard has hit just .224/.305/.377 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 371 at-bats, and he may be looking at a role as a platoon player over the remainder of the season, as he is out of the lineup against a lefty Wednesday.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has struggled mightily against left-handers this season and he won't get a chance to remedy that against tough San Francisco southpaw Madison Bumgarner on Wednesday. He is out of the lineup in favor of Darin Ruf.

Howard is batting just .209 against lefties this season and has one hit in six at-bats lifetime against Bumgarner.

A tremendous power display continued Tuesday night for Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who snagged the National League lead in home runs by adding two to his total.

Rizzo, who has 25 on the season, slugged solo blasts in the third and seventh innings. He has five home runs and six RBI in the last four games. He has also raised his batting average from .272 to .283 with 15 hits in his last 40 at-bats.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto underwent a second round of of platelet-rich plasma injections on Monday, MLB.com reports. Votto was placed on the disabled list on July 8, as a result of a lingering left quadriceps injury. He is approximately 4-5 weeks away from returning.

"That is a part of his recovery," manager Bryan Price said. "There's a couple of days of ... I don't want to say total inactivity, but resting it and not doing a lot on the knee and then returning to his rehab protocol. It's a good thing, because it's a part of his recovery that we think is going to be very effective."

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores, who has been rotating between second base, third base and shortstop at Triple-A Las Vegas, is on a 20-game hitting streak. Despite very good numbers (.325/.580/.950) at Las Vegas, manager Terry Collins hinted Sunday it doesn't appear a recall is imminent.

"I don’t want to bring young guys up here and have them sit on the bench," Collins said, per ESPN. "I just don’t think it’s good for their development. If Wilmer Flores comes, I think he’s going to have to play someplace, because I don’t think he gets anything out of sitting on the bench playing once a week. 

"If he was going to be the future utility player down the road, OK, maybe. But this guy’s bat potential is so good, there’s nothing wrong with going and having a big year in Triple-A."

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told MLB Network Radio Sunday that first baseman Joey Votto (quadriceps) and second baseman Brandon Phillips (thumb) are about 4-5 weeks away from returning.

"We're hopeful that they will be back for the stretch run -- end of August or first week of September," Jocketty said.

A matchup against southpaw Alex Wood has Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard out Sunday in Atlanta.

Howard has just one hit in his last 18 at-bats and owns a disappointing .216 batting average against lefties this season.

The Marlins have made several moves prior to Saturday's game against the Giants, FOX Sports Florida reports. They have optioned first baseman Justin Bour down to Triple-A New Orleans and purchased the contract of outfielder Jordany Valdespin from New Orleans. Miami has also transferred shortstop Rafael Furcal to the 60-day disabled list.

 Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo put on a power display Friday, though it wasn't enough to lift his team in a 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Rizzo had two hits in the loss, and both left the yard. He opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the fourth inning, and then added a solo homer in the sixth, as he finished the game 2 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Rizzo is now hitting .278/.382/.516 with an NL-leading 22 home runs in 94 games. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has posted a .327 batting average in July, but he heads into the All-Star break still looking for his first home run of the month.

Freeman started off the season in good form, knocking six home runs in April, but he managed just seven in the next two months before coming up empty in the first two weeks of July. Even with the lack of power recently, the first baseman has maintained great overall numbers, hitting .295/.384/.495 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI in 366 at-bats.