MLB Player News

Reds first baseman Joey Votto responded to comments that he's not tough enough to play, according to MLB.com.

Votto stressed that he's dealing with a serious injury, and tried to play through the pain earlier in the season. He reiterated that he didn't ask to be injured, and would return as soon as he's healthy.

"The second I’m capable of playing and I’m no longer injured, I’ll be back on the field," Votto said. "In the meantime, you can assume I’m injured. I shouldn’t get some sort of different treatment, as if this is — I’ve noticed little comments here and there and just a general perception that this is something I elected to do. I didn’t elect to be injured. I am injured. People get injured. I am injured. What can I do? At some point I’ll be back playing like I was playing before."

Votto has been sidelined since July 5 with a quad injury. He's hit .255/.390/.409 over 220 at-bats. 

The power surge of Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo continued Tuesday night - and it resulted in a rain-shortened win.

Rizzo blasted his fourth homer in eight games. His two-run shot in the first inning proved to be the only scoring. He is 4 for 6 with three runs and three RBI in the last two games to improve his stat line to .279/.378/.517.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo doubled and homered during a 4-1 win Monday against the Mets. He walked once and finished with two runs.

Rizzo broke a 1-all tie in the eighth inning with a solo home run off Buddy Carlyle. It was his 28th home run. He also now has 20 doubles.

Rizzo has homered three times in his last seven games. He did enter play Monday mired in a 0-for-10 slump in his last three games and batting .197 in his first 15 August games.

The Reds cleared a spot on the 40-man roster Saturday by moving first baseman Joey Votto to the 60-day disabled list.

Votto has been out since July 8 with a strained left quad, and this move will keep him out until at least early September. He is still a few weeks from beginning baseball activities, so this likely does not change his timetable much. 

First baseman Freddie Freeman certainly can't be blamed for his team's loss Thursday that left it one defeat short of .500. He led the Braves with two doubles and a single against the Dodgers and scored two runs.

Freeman has six multi-hit games in the last 11 as his average has been raised to .294, its highest point since July 13.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBI in his team's 4-2 victory over the Brewers Wednesday.

Rizzo put the Cubs on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before following up a third-inning Javier Baez home run with a blast of his own. It's his second consecutive game with a home run. Rizzo has hit .278/.378/.507 with 27 home runs and 65 RBI in 442 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 3-2 victory over the Mets.

Cabrera's eighth-inning shot gave the Nationals an insurance run they would end up needing after the Mets plated one runner in the bottom of the ninth. The homer was the 10th of the season for Cabrera but his first since joining the Nationals. He has hit .249/.309/.393 with 44 RBI and seven stolen bases in 417 at-bats.

Bryan Price has estimated that Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who has been out since July 8 with a left quad strain, could begin baseball activities in two weeks at the latest. He has been doing strengthening work on his leg.

"I don't like to throw dates out there, but it's reasonable to think that some time in the next week and a half to two weeks that baseball activity would start up again," Price told MLB.com.

Reds manager Bryan Price won't put an exact date on when first baseman Joey Votto (quadriceps) will begin baseball activities, but he hinted Wednesday a timetable is developing, per MLB.com.

"I don't like to throw dates out there, but it's reasonable to think that some time in the next week and a half to two weeks that baseball activity would start back up again," Price said.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo hit his 26th home run Tuesday against the Brewers. 

Rizzo struck in the bottom of the sixth. Leading off the inning, Rizzo took the first pitch he saw from Wily Peralta out to left center for the solo shot. It was his only hit of the game. Rizzo finished 1 for 3, with one run scored and one RBI.