MLB Player News

Much like the the weather in the Midwest, Indians infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has been unable to warm up this season.

Cabrera went 1 for 4 Thursday against the Red Sox, with a single as his only damage of the day. He struck out once, the sixth game in a row he has struck out at least once and the 11th time in 14 games. The Indians lost 6-3.

Cabrera is batting just .127 with 17 strikeouts in 55 at-bats. He has just three extra-base hits, and a .455 on-base plus slugging percentage. Cabrera is coming off back-to-back All-Star game appearances. 

By all accounts, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is healthy, which makes his offensive performance this season puzzling. The big slugger has yet to find his power stroke 16 games into the season.

Howard went 3 for 4 Thursday against the Cardinals to raise his batting averaging to .274, but all three hits went for singles. Howard does not have an extra-base hit in any of his last four games, and he has just five in 62 at-bats.

Howard has also walked just three times, with 16 strikeouts. His .690 on-base plus slugging percentage would be the lowest of his career, just ahead of the .718 mark he posted in an injury-riddled 2012 campaign. 

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit his fourth home run of the year in his team's 6-2 win over the Rangers Thursday. It was just the ninth hit of the season for Rizzo, who has posted a .180/.305/.460 line in his first 50 at-bats while striking out 16 times.

Rizzo will look to extend his three-game hitting streak when the Cubs square off against the Brewers this weekend.

I just watched Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo take Alexi Ogando deep -- with a moonshot to right that almost left Wrigley Field. Rizzo entered the game hitting .174 with three home runs, a relative disappointment to his owners. 

But Rizzo has two home runs in his last three games, along with a double and a .300 average (through his second at-bat in Thursday's game). Owned in 98 percent of leagues, Rizzo is started in just 82. With his next seven games coming in hitter-friendly venues (Wrigley Field, Miller Park, and Great American Ballpark), Rizzo owners should move to activate him, while the window is quickly closing for Rizzo pursuers to concoct some smart buy-low offers for the 23-year-old. 

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (oblique) is scheduled to play three rehab games for Triple-A Gwinnett this weekend and could rejoin the Braves' lineup Monday in Colorado, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Freeman is scheduled to take batting practice and infield Thursday, then travel to Charlotte to play for Gwinnett. 

"If everything goes well, I’ll fly to Denver on Monday," Freeman said. "That’s the plan, barring no setbacks (with the oblique). But I feel great. Ramped it up even more today in the cage. Hopefully, tomorrow everything will go well on the field."

Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano drove in the Marlins' only run in the team's 6-1 loss to the Nationals Wednesday. It was only the second RBI of the year for Solano, who has also scored just two runs this year while hitting .220/.291/.240 in 55 plate appearances.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt continued his recent hot hitting on Wednesday night against the Yankees. He went 1 for 4 with a home run in a 4-3 loss.

The 25-year-old launched a two-run shot off starter CC Sabathia in the first inning for his third long ball.

Goldschmidt has collected at least one hit in four straight games and is 6 for 16 (.375) with three RBI during that stretch.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is almost ready for a rehab assignment, perhaps as soon as Friday, MLB.com reports.

Freeman has been dealing with an oblique injury since April 6. He is eligible to return from the injury on Sunday and is expected to do so.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana, who missed a little over a week with a wrist injury, had an uneventful return Tuesday night against the Red Sox.

Santana could not muster a hit in his first game back as he finished 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He is hitting .433/.514/.767 with two home runs and five RBI over his first 30 at-bats.

Astros outfielder Chris Carter has mostly failed to live up to his former billing as a top prospect in parts of four major-league seasons. Sure, he hit 16 home runs and posted an .864 on-base plus slugging percentage a year ago, but he was not a full-time player for the Athletics, who limited him to just 218 at-bats.

Carter is getting every-day at bats with the Astros this season and a hot start has Fantasy owners flocking to pick him up. As of Tuesday, Carter was the sixth-most added player in CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, being added in 30 percent of leagues. Is he finally starting to live up to his pedigree?

Carter is flashing his solid power stroke yet again, with a .280 isolated slugging percentage that is slightly up from last year's .275 mark. But where he appears to have taken the biggest step forward is batting average, raising his .239 mark from a year ago to a more respectable .260, so far. If he can sustain that and keep hammering the ball into the seats, we'll have a breakout slugger on our hands.

Unfortunately for Fantasy owners, Carter is striking out 38.2 percent of the time he steps to the plate, leaving a .360 batting average on balls in play as the only thing standing between him and a lengthy flirtation with the Mendoza line. Carter is going to hit the ball hard enough to put up some solid BABIP numbers, but this pace is almost certainly unsustainable.

Carter has always had holes in his swing, and it doesn't look like he has shored them up, upon closer inspection. Don't be surprised if the bottom falls out quickly on this one.