MLB Player News

Votto is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates.

Votto will get a routine day off as the Reds go with Jordan Pacheco at first base. Pacheco will bat seventh against Pittsburgh's Juan Nicasio.

The Phillies could give Joseph a look at first base with Darin Ruf struggling to produce this season, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Ruf has hit just .164 with a .413 OPS and 18 strikeouts in 55 at-bats this season. He destroyed left-handed pitching last season, so the Phils could opt to stick with him a bit longer. If not, Joseph looks ready for an opportunity. He is hitting .368/.391/.655 with six home runs in 87 at-bats for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. His playing time would likely be limited, at least initially, while on the short side of a platoon with Ryan Howard.

Freeman hit his fifth home run, a solo shot, in a 2-for-4 game in Tuesday's loss to Philadelphia.

Freeman has a pair of dingers to go with three walks in his last three games. He got off to a slow start in terms of power production this season, but his slugging percentage is now up to .464, right between his 2014 mark (.461) and 2015 mark (.471). While it's looking unlikely at this point in his career that Freeman develops into a major power threat, he has been very consistent. He has hit between 18 and 23 home runs each of the past five seasons and should be expected to land there again this year if he stays healthy.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

Goldy is hitting just .194 this month, but he has seven total bases in his first two games of 2016 at Coors Field, and will hope this can be a sign of better things to come. He remains on pace for strong power numbers this season, and his other counting stats should catch up as he finds some consistency at the plate.

Freeman is 6-for-18 (.333) with three extra-base hits, including a home run over his last 10 games.

He went 0-for-4 Sunday, but before that, he registered a hit in 17 of the prior 20 games. During that time, his average rose from .080 to .275. Going into Tuesday's game, Freeman is slashing .264/.376/.434 with four homers, eight RBI and 11 runs in 106 at-bats.

Bell, 23, is hitting .290/.385/.450 with three home runs and 17 RBI through 26 games for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Bell has not homered over his last 10 games, though he continues to hit for average. In fact, he has not batted under .274 at any level since entering the minors. Still, his upside as a first baseman, or a corner outfielder for that matter, is limited by his inability to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

Bour drove in a pair of runs while going 1-for-3 in Sunday's loss to the Phillies.

Bour made a weekend return to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a dislocated finger and continued his warming trend. He's batting .421/.478/.947 over his past seven games with three home runs and eight RBI.

Rizzo went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Saturday's 8-5 victory over the Nationals.

The fifth-year pro has exploded in May, after entering the month with a paltry .218 average. He's slashing .407/.515/.852 over his first 27 at-bats of the month, with six doubles, two homers, four RBI and four walks. Saturday's effort marked the fourth multi-hit effort in the last six for Rizzo, who's seen his season line climb to .267/.417/.648, and whose 10 homers and 28 RBI lead the Cubs.

Howard is out of the lineup Sunday against the Marlins, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

It has became the norm for Howard to sit against left-handed pitching, and Sunday afternoon will be no different with southpaw Justin Nicolino on the hill for the opposing Marlins. This will be the fifth straight game Howard has sat against a lefty, with Darin Ruf taking over at first base on each of those occasions.

Bour went 1-for-2 with a solo homer and a walk Saturday against the Phillies.

Bour broke a 1-1 tie with his fourth homer in the fourth inning of a game the Marlins would go on to lose. He's now collected seven hits in his last 16 at-bats, and his slash line is at .278/.348/.494.