MLB Player News

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty told MLB Network Radio Sunday that first baseman Joey Votto (quadriceps) and second baseman Brandon Phillips (thumb) are about 4-5 weeks away from returning.

"We're hopeful that they will be back for the stretch run -- end of August or first week of September," Jocketty said.

A matchup against southpaw Alex Wood has Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard out Sunday in Atlanta.

Howard has just one hit in his last 18 at-bats and owns a disappointing .216 batting average against lefties this season.

The Angels optioned first baseman C.J. Cron to Triple-A Salt Lake Saturday, to clear room on the active roster for the acquisition of Huston Street.

Cron's demotion comes as a surprise, as he is hitting .269/.297/.480 with nine home runs and 27 RBI in 53 games this season. 

The Marlins have made several moves prior to Saturday's game against the Giants, FOX Sports Florida reports. They have optioned first baseman Justin Bour down to Triple-A New Orleans and purchased the contract of outfielder Jordany Valdespin from New Orleans. Miami has also transferred shortstop Rafael Furcal to the 60-day disabled list.

 Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo put on a power display Friday, though it wasn't enough to lift his team in a 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Rizzo had two hits in the loss, and both left the yard. He opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the fourth inning, and then added a solo homer in the sixth, as he finished the game 2 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Rizzo is now hitting .278/.382/.516 with an NL-leading 22 home runs in 94 games. 

Thinking of starting Mike Zunino, C.J. Cron, Kolten Wong, Aramis Ramirez, J.J. Hardy or Steve Pearce in the shortened Fantasy Week 16 (July 18-20)? You might want to think again.

Find out why in the latest Start and Sit Hitters.

Chris Carter has homered six times in his last eight games to make him the sixth-best hitter in Head-to-Head leagues and the fifth-best in Rotisserie during that stretch, which is great.

Now who wants to bet on him doing it again in his next eight?

We've seen this before from him -- too many times before -- so we know what comes next: a two-week stretch when he collects just three hits, striking out every other at-bat. How do you think his batting average got to be .223 last season? How do you think it got to be .205 this season? He has five more singles than home runs, for crying out loud.

And that's the catch with him: He can hit you bunches of home runs, sure, but because he does absolutely nothing in between, he's inevitably sitting for you when he hits those home runs.

Maybe he won't cool off this week. Maybe the requisite slump won't come until the last week of July or the first week of August. But rest assured, it'll come, so unless you're willing to ride it out with him, you might as well not even bother with him. I don't know about you, but I'd have to be pretty desperate for power to take that hit in batting average.

White Sox All-Star first baseman Jose Abreu will open the second half of the season with an eight-game hitting streak. In fact, the rookie first baseman has failed to record a hit just once in his last 27 games.

Abreu is batting .355 with a .400 on-base percentage, .692 slugging percentage and 1.092 OPS in his last 27 games. He also has six doubles, 10 home runs, 15 runs, 22 RBI, eight walks (five intentional), 18 strikeouts and one stolen base in that span.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has posted a .327 batting average in July, but he heads into the All-Star break still looking for his first home run of the month.

Freeman started off the season in good form, knocking six home runs in April, but he managed just seven in the next two months before coming up empty in the first two weeks of July. Even with the lack of power recently, the first baseman has maintained great overall numbers, hitting .295/.384/.495 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI in 366 at-bats.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has been chosen as the leadoff hitter for the NL team in Tuesday's All-Star game.

The batting order following McCutchen will be Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton (DH), Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy and Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez.

Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will be on the hill to start the game for the NL All-Stars.