MLB Player News

Rizzo went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Tigers.

Rizzo was hitless until the ninth inning, when he followed Javier Baez's three-run blast with a home run of his own. The 29-year-old first baseman has now homered in consecutive games to get to 20 in a season for the sixth straight year. Rizzo appears primed for a big finish in 2018.

Santana is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Nationals, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Santana, who is hitting .263/.364/.404 with two homers and seven RBI through 17 games this month, will head to the bench for what appears to be a routine day off following five straight starts. Justin Bour will man first base and hit cleanup in his stead.

Flores is out of the lineup against the Giants on Wednesday.

Flores will take a seat for just the third time this month as Dominic Smith gets a start at first base. Dating back to the start of August, Flores is hitting .318/.362/.459 with two home runs and 13 RBI. Look for him to rejoin the starting nine for Thursday's series finale.

Abreu was put on the 10-day DL on Wednesday after undergoing surgery on his lower abdomen/groin.

Abreu is expected to resume baseball activities around the beginning of September, so he's looking at about a three-week timetable for his return to the field. In a corresponding move, the club recalled Jose Rondon from Triple-A Charlotte prior to Wednesday's game.

Cron has passed through waivers and is eligible to be traded, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Manager Kevin Cash basically summed up the logic behind putting Cron on waivers, stating, "There are players on this roster right now we want to get some looks at, and in fairness to him they're going to come at the expense of some of his at-bats." Dating back to Aug. 10, Cron has started just six of the club's last 11 games, during which he's hit .360 with an OPS of 1.080, so it appears his productivity doesn't have much correlation with the 28-year-old's playing time, which echoes Cash's remark.

Rizzo went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Tigers.

Rizzo supplied the only offense for the Cubs with his 19th home run of the season, which came in the sixth inning against Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann. The 29-year-old first baseman has moved down to a more typical spot in the middle of the order recently after a successful stint as the Cubs' leadoff hitter. He now has a .267 average and .815 OPS for the season.

Abreu underwent surgery on his lower abdomen/groin Tuesday and will be be out a couple weeks.

Abreu was out of the lineup Tuesday due to lower abdominal pain after starting 39 consecutive games. The veteran first baseman should be able to resume baseball activities in about two weeks, and is likely looking at a return in mid-September.

Votto (lower leg) hopes to return from the disabled list Sunday when first eligible, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Votto kept playing sporadically after getting hit in the leg by a pitch back on Aug. 4 but was eventually placed on the disabled list. Brandon Dixon and Tucker Barnhart have been playing first base in his absence.

Abreu was scratched from Tuesday's lineup against the Twins due to lower abdominal pain, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Abreu is currently being treated for the issue, though the severity remains unclear. The 31-year-old was on a tear prior to suffering the injury, hitting .330/.394/.652 with nine homers and 26 RBI in 29 games since the All-Star break. Consider him day-to-day for now. Matt Davidson is starting at first base in his place.

Dixon has picked up two of the four starts at first base for the Reds since Joey Votto (knee) has gone on the DL, with the other two going to Tucker Barnhart, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.

Interim manager Jim Riggleman suggested that Scooter Gennett could possibly slide over to first base on occasion, which would allow Dilson Herrera to get a random start here and there.