MLB Player News

Calhoun (personal) is starting in right field and hitting second Friday against the Astros.

He missed three games to be with his family after the birth of his child, but appeared as a pinch hitter Thursday, so his return Friday was expected. Calhoun should finish out the season as the Angels' starting right fielder.

Joseph is not in the lineup Friday against the Mets, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

This comes as no surprise, as Ryan Howard is expected to get more starts down the stretch as a last hurrah in Philadelphia. Joseph could come off the bench as a pinch hitter, though, especially given his solid power.

Manager Pete Mackanin said Howard will play a lot over the Phillies' final nine games of the season, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Howard returned to the starting lineup Thursday after missing a few games with a sore knee. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and his 23rd home run of the season. He's now hit .272/.344/.642 with nine home runs since the beginning of August.

Santana went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and an RBI double in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Royals.

Santana's been enjoying the diluted pitching of September baseball, as he's having his best month, posting a .310/.451/.634 line with six homers and 17 RBI over 20 games. That's about as much average as you'll ever see him hit for, as Santana tends to hover in the .250 range (or worse), but he's still been plenty productive for fantasy owners. The 30-year-old has a career-high 34 homers already, and he's just two short of his career-high 85 RBI and one short of his career-high 84 runs.

Cabrera went 3-for-6 against the Phillies on Thursday, with his three-run homer turning an 8-6 deficit into a 9-8 walkoff win in the 11th inning.

The red-hot shortstop punctuated his no-doubter to right-center with one of the most emphatic bat flips you'll ever see, celebrating the Mets' third comeback of the evening. Cabrera's fantasy owners have been flipping with delight themselves, as the 30-year-old has been on an offensive rampage since returning from the disabled list in the middle of August. Over that 32-game span, Cabrera's hitting .365 with nine homers, four steals, 22 RBI and 20 runs. He's been the most valuable shortstop in baseball by a strong margin during that time. Always a competent hitter but never a star, Cabrera's sure to return to normality eventually, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him stay hot for what remains of the regular season.

Calhoun (personal) rejoined the Angels on Thursday following a leave of absence to be with his newborn child. He's not in the starting lineup.

He may be available to pinch hit Thursday, but this bodes well for his chances of returning to starting duty Friday. Fantasy players can expect to slide him back in.

Bell is not in the lineup Thursday against the Brewers.

Bell has received significant playing time since being called up in mid-August, but he'll get a regular day off with Starling Marte returning to the lineup. It's unclear what will happen to Bell's playing time with the All-Star coming back, but the situation should become clearer in the coming days.

Calhoun (personal) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers.

It's his fourth straight day off following the birth of his child. With 40-man September rosters, the Halos have not needed to give him paternity list designation. He's day-to-day heading into Friday action, with Rafael Ortega continuing to occupy right field in Calhoun's stead.

Joseph is not in the lineup Thursday against the Mets, Jack McCaffery of the Delaware County Daily Times reports.

Ryan Howard is expected to get a good number of the starts at first base down the stretch as the Phillies prepare to give him a proper sendoff, so Joseph will begin that trend Thursday now that Howard's knee is back to full health. Joseph's playing time may be down a bit for the remainder of the season, although he'll likely be in consideration for the primary first base job headed into spring training.

Howard (knee) is back in the lineup Thursday against the Mets, Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal reports.

Howard was held out of the lineup four consecutive games due to some issues with his knee, but it seems the extra days off have gotten the slugger back on track to finish out the season. Howard will take over at first base and is expected to get a good number of starts there as the Phillies give him a nice sendoff for all the years he spent with the team.