MLB Player News

Indians catcher Carlos Santana went 3 for 4 with a run scored in the club's loss Sunday against Tampa Bay.

The hits were all singles for Santana, playing at DH on Sunday. Santana was just 4 for his last 25, so his day was especially welcome. Santana is hitting .283/.390/.489.

Chris Carter hit a two-run home run Saturday to give the Houston Astros all the runs they needed in a win over the Angels.

Carter, who has two home runs in his last three games, now has 11 long balls on the season. While he's driving in plenty of runs, he has 31 RBI, Carter is hitting just .223. Much of that can be attributed to his strikeout rate. Carter, with 79 punchouts so far, is on pace for 238 this year.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt enjoyed a productive night at the dish as he reached base three times and launched a grand slam Saturday night against the Cubs.

Goldschmidt went deep in the eighth inning for a grand slam that broke the game open for the Diamondbacks. He added a single and finished 2 for 5 with a walk, three runs scored and four RBI in a 12-4 victory.

Goldschmidt is hitting .428 (12 for 28) with nine RBI in his last seven games. He has a .332/.411/.603 slash line with 13 homers and 45 RBI in 54 games played.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman hit his fourth home run in Thursday's victory over Toronto.

Freeman finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Over his last four games, Freeman is a scorching 9 for 18 with a triple and a home run. His batting line is up to a cool .312/.376/.452.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt continued his assault on the ball Thursday, going 4 for 5 in a 9-5 loss to the Rangers.

Goldschmit drove in a run on a seventh-inning single, and he added his 15th double later in the loss. Goldschmidt is hitting .337, though he has not homered in 10 games.

Goldschmidt is hitting .393 in May -- with seven home runs, 23 RBI and 16 runs scored -- and a game remaining. He has nine multi-hit games in the month, including three games with at least four hits. 

The Twins announced Thursday that infielder Chris Colabello has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Colabello was sent to Rochester Wednesday when third baseman Trevor Plouffe was activated from the seven-day disabled list, but Plouffe was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday.

Colabello went 1 for 11 with six strike outs in his first stint with the Twins.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has just seven home runs this season, putting him on pace for about 24. He's also hitting .258, which is 13 points below his career average. 

But Howard has a couple things going for him. His 13 doubles have him on pace for a career high and he's hitting .308 over his last 10 games. While his HR/FB ratio has dipped to 14.9 percent (about half of his career rate), one could attribute that to several factors, including some residual rust and strength issues from his Achilles surgery and rehab. 

Additionally, Howard tends to heat up later in the season, with his OPS reaching its highest marks in June (.899), July (.935) and August (.889). And while it's easy to say he's in a late-career power decline (he hasn't hit 40 home runs since 2009), Howard is still just 33. 

If Howard is sitting on a fellow owner's bench, or even being underutilized in the CI spot, it might not be a bad idea to send a buy low offer and see if you can pry him loose.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto hit his 10th home run of the year Wednesday against the Indians. The solo homer in the first inning was Votto's only hit of the night.

Votto has now collected at least one hit in 15 of his last 16 games, giving him a .352/.474/.563 line in 199 at-bats this year.

Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano has been rehabbing at extended spring training in Jupiter, according to MLB.com, and is nearing a minor-league rehab assignment. Solano is on the disabled list while recovering from an intercostals strain. 

The Twins have optioned infielder Chris Colabello to Triple-A Rocherster, the club announced Wednesday. Colabello went 1 for 11 in a stint as Trevor Plouffe's injury replacement for Minnesota.