MLB Player News

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo announced on Monday that he will play for Italy in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Rizzo batted .285 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 87 games in the majors last season.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who spent for the first three months last season recovering from a ruptured Achilles, has been working to get back to full strength this offseason. He hit .219 with 14 homers and a .718 OPS in 260 at-bats after returning last year. "He was never really at 100 percent [last season]. I don’t know how close he’ll be when spring starts," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "But typically it takes a full year to gain your full strength capacity with an injury like that, and I think he’s getting closer to that."

The Angels recalled outfielder Kole Calhoun from Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday. Calhoun has seen 15 at-bats this year for the Angels and has three hits.

Cubs 1B prospect Justin Bour continues to rake for Class A Daytona. He is second in the Florida State League in homers (16) and RBI (52). For the season, he is batting .318 with 17 doubles, a .382 on-base percentage, .595 slugging percentage and .977 OPS. The George Mason product told The Washington Post he has made some tweaks at the plate with the help of Cubs minor league hitting coordinator Dave Keller. “Overall it’s pretty much the same as I had in high school,” Bour said. ”I just dropped my hands a little bit, learned how to use my lower half.”