MLB Player News

Howard went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Cubs.

The 36-year-old slugger has endured a forgettable year, and has lost a solid amount of playing time recently to rookie Tommy Joseph. Tuesday's production was therefore a sight for sore eyes as far as Howard is concerned, and his homer was the first time he'd gone deep since May 11 versus the Braves. While he's struggled at the plate plenty over the last two seasons, he seems to have hit a new low this year, as his average continues to sit well below the Mendoza Line. It remains to be seen if Tuesday's output will garner Howard a stretch of starts on a surprisingly competitive Phillies squad.

Carter homered twice and drove in five runs in a 2-for-4 game in Tuesday's win over Oakland.

The story with Carter continues to be his ridiculous home-road splits. Carter has now hit 12 of his 16 home runs at Miller Park as he continues to feast on Milwaukee's short fences. Daily fantasy players take note -- Carter was hitting .230/.274/.584 with 24 of his 34 RBI at home and just .211/.295/.378 on the road before Tuesday's game and only exacerbated those splits with another big game at home against the Athletics.

Bour is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Bour will head to the bench Tuesday in order to get more right-handed hitters in the lineup against the Twins' lefty starter Pat Dean. Chris Johnson will replace Bour at first base and bat seventh.

Howard will start at first and bat fifth on Tuesday against the Cubs, Kevin Cooney of Calkins Media reports.

Howard hasn't started since May 31 due to manager Pete Mackanin giving Tommy Joseph an extended look at first base. Joseph has performed well this season, slashing .311/.313/.590 over 61 at-bats, and it seems Mackanin may give him the more permanent nod to start. Howard is likely slotted in the lineup Tuesday in order to place more left-handed hitters in the lineup against right-handed starter Kyle Hendricks.

Joseph is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cubs, Kevin Cooney of Calkins Media reports.

Joseph will cede the starting first base spot to Ryan Howard, who will bat fifth. Joseph has begun to take over at first base lately due to Howard's struggles at the plate. Manager Pete Mackanin likely moved Howard into the lineup to give Joseph a day off, and to pack the lineup with left-handed hitters against righty starter Kyle Hendricks.

Manager Pete Mackanin said he is nearing a long-term decision regarding playing time at first base for Joseph and Ryan Howard, Corey Seidman of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Mackanin will likely name Joseph his starter at first base. He went 2-for-4 with a solo homer Monday and is now hitting .311 with five home runs since his promotion from the minors last month.

Howard will be back in the lineup Tuesday, according to manager Pete Mackanin, Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal reports.

This will be Howard's first start since May 31, as the Phillies gave Tommy Joseph a chance to prove himself at first base. Mackanin has stated that he will make a decision about how to move forward soon, but with Joseph recording multi-hit games in three of his five starts, it isn't looking good for Howard.

Santana went 2-for-4 with two RBI including a solo shot, his 10th home run of the season, in Sunday's win over the Royals.

For the third straight season Santana has been a liability in batting average, hitting just .223 so far in 2016, but he's walking more than he's striking out for the first time since his rookie season and he remains a solid power threat. If he can stay on his current pace, Santana has a chance at his first 30 HR season.

Abreu went 1-for-4 with a solo shot, his seventh home run of the season, in Sunday's loss to the Tigers.

It's his first homer since May 17, but Abreu has at least started to string together some hits, going 14-for-45 (.311) over his last 11 games. He still has only three RBI and four runs scored over that stretch, however, as he's far from the only White Sox hitter having trouble producing useful fantasy numbers lately.

Cron is out of the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

The Angels ended up going with Albert Pujols at first base for all three games of their series in Pittsburgh, but Cron should be back in lineup Monday against the Yankees, when manager Mike Scioscia will be able to deploy Pujols at his usual DH spot.