MLB Player News

Phillies slugger Ryan Howard (knee) was available to pinch-hit Tuesday and could return to the lineup Wednesday, per CSN Philadelphia.

Howard has not played since Sept. 24, when he took a throw off his left knee while playing first base. The knee had to be drained after swelling up. Darin Ruf has been filling in at first base with Howard sidelined.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (knee) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets, according to Stephen Gross of The Morning Call.

The Phillies were hoping that Howard would be able to return to action Tuesday, but he remains sidelined with his knee injury. Darin Ruf will get the start at first base Tuesday.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is out of the lineup Monday against the Royals.

Rizzo has now gone hitless in four of his last five games following an 0 for 3 performance at the dish Sunday. Kris Bryant will slide over from third base to replace him at first Monday, while Tommy La Stella will enter the lineup at third, batting cleanup.

Marlins first baseman Justin Bour mashed a pair of home runs in Sunday's win over the Braves, driving in three RBI.

The red-hot rookie is finishing his season with a bang. Bour has gone deep in three straight games and four of his last five contests. Sunday's multi-homer effort was Bour's first of his career, as he bumped his season total up to 23 to go along with 71 RBI over 424 plate appearances.

Bour's strong September (.304/.337/.620) will go a long way towards earning him the opportunity to open 2016 as the Marlins' regular first baseman.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (knee) is expected to return to the Phillies' lineup as early as Tuesday against the Mets, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports. 

A bruised left knee has sidelined Howard for nearly two weeks, but he's demonstrated progress in recent days. He resumed taking batting practice Friday and appears fit to take the field as well, putting him on tap to see action in the final week of the regular season.

Marlins first baseman Justin Bour went 2 for 3 with a homer, two RBI and a walk in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Braves.

Atlanta pitching has brought Bour's bat to life, with the 27-year-old hitting .625 (5-for-8) with two homers, five RBI and three runs scored in the first two games of the series. Bour now has seven round-trippers in September to go along with a remarkable 22 RBI, on the heels of back-to-back 16 RBI months in July and August.

The young first baseman has proven to be an offensive revelation and power source for the Marlins in a season that has seen Giancarlo Stanton miss the last three months with a worrisome hand injury. After hitting only one homer in his initial 74 major-league at-bats last season, Bour has slugged 21 gopher balls and amassed a .474 slugging percentage and .800 OPS in the 2015 campaign.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto went 3 for 5 in a 10-2 loss to the Mets on Saturday.

As a forgettable season winds down for Cincinnati, the All-Star first baseman is hitting the ball the best he has all year. Votto now has nine multi-hit efforts in September and has reached base safely in every game of the month as well. Even more impressively however, the last time Votto failed to get on via either base hit or walk dates all the way back to Aug. 10 against the Padres, an amazing streak of 43 contests.

When the veteran isn't pounding out base hits or homers, he's drawing an incredible number of base on balls, with the 139 he's amassed this season serving as a career high and contributing greatly to the .464 OBP figure he entered Saturday's game with.

Marlins first baseman Justin Bour went 3 for 5 with a homer, three RBI and two runs in Friday's win over Atlanta.

Bour has been on a tear as of late, mashing eight homers and driving in 27 runs over the past month. Though patience remains a weakness, he has managed a dismal 7.7% BB rate this season, Bour may be worth a spot in the lineup simply as a means to tap into that power. Since the All-Star break, Bour ranks among the top 10 first basemen in the league in homers and RBI.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman went 3 for 4 with a homer, a walk, two RBI and three runs in Friday's loss to Miami.

After struggling to stay in the lineup for stretches this season, Freeman is turning up the heat during fantasy crunch time. He has driven in 14 runs in his past 15 games, batting .280 with a .403 OBP. He ranks among the top six first basemen in the league in doubles, RBI and walks for the month of September.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (knee) took batting practice Friday, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News reports.

It's the first time that Howard swung in batting practice since being sidelined with a knee injury on Sept. 14. The 35-year-old is still hoping to return before the end of the season, but there's still no clear timetable. Darin Ruf figures to continue filling in at first base in his absence.