MLB Player News

Howard will not be in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Braves, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Howard started five of the last six games at first base and is expected to start all three of the Phillies' final three games this season, so manager Pete Mackanin decided to give him a day to rest. Tommy Joseph will man first base for the Phillies in Howard's place.

Rizzo is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Rizzo started the last 10 games at first base after receiving back-to-back days off, but manager Joe Maddon decided to hold him out in order to rest. Javier Baez will cover first base for the Cubs.

Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in a win over the A's on Wednesday.

Calhoun seemed to hit a wall in July and August, but has really picked up the pace to close out the season, as he is slugging .591 in his last 88 at-bats. The fact that he has yet to reach the 20-homer mark is likely disheartening for owners, but he increased his walk rate by more than three percent from 2015, and should remain a solid mid-round option on 2017 draft boards.

Santana is out of Thursday's lineup against the Tigers, the Akron Beacon Journal's Ryan Lewis reports.

There is a solid chance that Thursday's game will be rained out, but Santana will get the day off either way. If the game does get played, Jesus Aguilar will start at first base and hit seventh while Mike Napoli gets the nod at DH in the cleanup spot.

Freeman went 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo homer and three runs in Tuesday's game against Philadelphia.

Freeman hit his career-high 33rd homer and stretched his career-best hitting streak to 29 games, leading the Braves to a comeback victory to open their final homestand at Turner Field. The first baseman has been the rare bright spot on the league's worst team, hitting .307/.404/.576 with 88 RBI and 99 runs in 573 at-bats. Despite his team's overall performance, Freeman is sprinting to the finish line, hitting .415 with a ridiculous 1.249 OPS in September.

Howard went 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo homer and four RBI in Tuesday's game against the Braves.

Howard has homered in three of his last five games. The two-hit game pushed his average up to .196, giving him a chance to cross the Mendoza Line before the season ends. Despite the poor batting average, Howard has been somewhat productive this year with 24 home runs and a .453 slugging percentage in 316 at-bats. Furthermore, the first baseman's 56 RBI total is second-most over his last five seasons. (In fairness, he only played half a season in 2012 and 2013 due to injury). Howard's disappointing season can mainly be attributed to his abysmal first-half performance, as he's been significantly better-- and even fantasy-relevant -- since the break.

Howard went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Braves.

Howard has homered in three of his last five games. The two-hit game pushed his average up to .196, giving him a chance to cross the Mendoza Line before the season ends. Despite the poor batting average, Howard has been somewhat productive this year with 24 home runs and a .453 slugging percentage in 316 at-bats.

Votto hit a two-run homer in a 3-for-5 game Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Votto has homered in consecutive games and is on fire in September. He now has six blasts this month to go with six doubles and 14 RBI. He's hitting a brilliant .385/.472/.659 in 24 September games and is once again looking like one of the best all-around hitters in baseball.

Carter hit his 39th homer, a two-run shot, in a 2-for-3 game with two walks Tuesday against the Rangers.

Carter now has nine home runs in September as he continues to build on a career high in homers. His 39 leads the National League and trails only Edwin Encarnacion (42) among all major leaguers. Carter's .321 OBP, however, is the worst among any major league first baseman with 25 home runs -- he's as one-dimensional as it gets.

Flores (wrist) tried to swing a bat Monday and has been shut back down for a few days, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Clearly, Flores' wrist did not respond well to the activity as he's been shut back down with just six days remaining in the regular season. The same thing happened last week, with the wrist flaring up after Flores attempted to take swings following his second cortisone injection. It seems he would only be an option for the postseason.