MLB Player News

Howard is out of the lineup Friday against the Cubs, the News Journal's Meghan Montemurro reports.

This comes as no surprise as the Cubs are trotting out one of the top lefties in the game in Jon Lester for Friday's matinee. Tommy Joseph will start at first base and hit cleanup in his stead -- a trend that should continue against southpaws.

Freeman has one hit in his last 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

It's one of the reasons Freeman has just 15 RBI despite eight homers this season. However, Freeman is hardly alone with his struggles, as Atlanta is 4-for-53 with RISP over the last seven games. In addition to the eight homers and 15 RBI, Freeman is hitting .254 with 20 runs and one steal.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-5 with two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Pirates but also stranded five runners on base.

The slugger had a chance to do more damage but didn't get it done. In the three-game series with Pittsburgh, Goldschmidt left a total of 10 runners on base. It's a good sign that runners are getting on in front of him, and if Goldschmidt begins to heat up at the plate, the RBI total could rise quickly.

Bell, 23, is batting .382 with one home run and six RBI over his last 10 games for Triple-A Indianapolis.

The refrain remains the same for Bell. He is batting .297/.402/.458 on the season, but has just four home runs in 43 games. The Pirates are currently playing John Jaso at first base, and though he has no more power than Bell, Jaso is batting .303 with a .371 OBP. As such, until an injury or a trade occurs, Bell will continue to bide his time at Triple-A.

Rizzo went 0-for-4 with a walk in a victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday.

Rizzo's current slump might even be worse than the one he had in April, as he is just 3-for-38 with two RBI in his last 10 games. He has a respectable 5:6 BB:K in that span, but he's had trouble hitting 'em where they ain't. He's slashing .234/.371/.497 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI this season.

Stassi has a .227 batting average with eight doubles after playing in 33 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

After a strong first month of play at the Triple-A level, Stassi has experienced some struggles in the month of May. He's 5-for-30 in his last 10 games and his slugging percentage currently sits at .340, down from the .470 he posted at Double-A Reading in 2015. However, with Tommy Joseph's recent call-up to Philadelphia, Stassi will have more opportunities to adjust to Triple-A ball and rediscover the power in his bat.

Cabrera left Wednesday's game against the Nationals with back spasms before he took his first at-bat, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports.

It was a bizarre exodus, as Cabrera had not yet taken an at-bat or played the field before he was removed, so his owners in daily leagues will be left with a goose egg. Matt Reynolds replaced him at shortstop, and would figure to continue to see time there if Cabrera is forced to miss further time with the back issue. The Mets' starting shortstop has not experienced back spasms since the summer of 2014, and in that case he ended up missing almost a week with the discomfort. New York is off Thursday so his next chance to return would be Friday against the Dodgers.

Cabrera was listed in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Nationals but was removed before receiving an at-bat or playing the field due to back spasms, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports.

Matt Reynolds replaced Cabrera in the lineup. With the Mets having a scheduled off-day Thursday, Cabrera will have an extra day to be potentially be healthy by Friday's game against the Dodgers.

The Mets believe Flores (hamstring) will be recovered and ready to start at first base immediately when he becomes eligible to come off the DL on Friday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

In this case, Flores would only take the first base position for 4-to-6 weeks while Lucas Duda rehabilitates from a stress fracture in his back. Flores would then return to a more limited reserve infield role once Duda returns. The 24-year-old Flores is slashing .180/.255/.280 in 50 total at-bats so far this season.

Hoskins went 1-for-4 with a grand slam home run for Double-A Reading on Tuesday.

Hoskins is 13-for-38 with two home runs over his last 10 games, raising his batting average to .263. He has eight home runs in 42 games this season, putting him on pace to exceed his 17 homers from last season. He is also on pace to strike out a lot more than last season as well. His strikeout rate has jumped nearly 10 percent this year.