MLB Player News

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt enters play Tuesday at San Francisco as one of two Arizona players to start all 19 games, joining Martin Prado. 

Goldschmidt is carrying a .324 average through the first few weeks of the season. Goldschmidt has failed to record a hit in just five games. He's managed six multi-hit games, including three in his last nine outings.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman won't be restricted for Tuesday's doubleheader against the Rockies, barring a setback.

Freeman was expected to come off the 15-day disabled list Monday but the contest was postponed due to inclement weather. The 23-year-old has not played since April 6 due to a right oblique strain.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was back in action Sunday against the Cardinals after missing his last two games with a groin injury.

Howard drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the first and added a single in the fourth. He finished 1 for 3 with one RBI in a 7-3 victory. The 33-year-old is hitting.277/.300/.385 with a home run and six RBI in 65 at-bats.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo accounted for both his club's runs Sunday with a two-run home run.

Rizzo went 2 for 4 on the day to get his batting average over .200. His six home runs lead the club and he has a respectable .532 slugging percentage despite his difficulties in hitting for average so far.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who was held out Friday and Saturday with a groin injury, returned to the starting lineup Sunday night against the Cardinals.

Howard has gone 2 for 5 with five walks and an RBI in his career against St. Louis starter Jake Westbrook. The 33-year-old is hitting .274 with a home run and five RBI in 62 at-bats this season.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto homered and scored two runs as part of a 3 for 5 day Sunday against the Marlins.

The home run marked the first time Votto has homered in back-to-back games since September 2011. He now has three on the season and is hitting .328/.522/.516 and trails just teammate Shin-Soo Choo on the NL on-base percentage leaderboard.

Cubs manager Dale Sveum suggested the club's defensive struggles could result in a demotion for multiple players, including young first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Rizzo made one of the Cubs' three errors in the field Saturday against Milwaukee. He is considered the Cubs' first baseman of the future, and some figured he would be up for good this season even with some early struggles. Sveum disagrees.

"I don’t think anything is invincible if you’re not performing," Sveum said. "That’s still the one main ingredient that has to happen to win baseball games. It’s not about what we think can happen three or four years from now."

Still, it's difficult to imagine the Cubs pulling the trigger on such a move. Rizzo hit .285 with 15 home runs in his first 87 games with the Cubs last season and has five home runs despite a .190 average early on this season. Most likely, Sveum is using the club's early struggles as a motivational tactic, but continued issues, either defensively and offensively, would be unadvisable for Rizzo.

Barring any setbacks in the final game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett Sunday, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (oblique) is expected to rejoin the team for Monday's series opener at Colorado, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Freeman has played just five games this season and has been out since April 7 with a strained right oblique.

In his second outing with Gwinnett Saturday, Freeman went 5 for 5 with three singles and two doubles while also driving in two runs. He also played the entire game at first base and is scheduled do so again Sunday.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto reached base five times and had his second home run of the season in a 3-2 win over Miami in 13 innings Saturday. He finished 4 for 6 with a walk -- the 14th time he has had four hits in a game, which represents a career high.

Votto, who went 11 games to start the season without a home run, has now had two over his past seven outings. His batting average is .305.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who is dealing with right groin tightness, is expected to return to the starting lineup Sunday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Howard, who was held out of Saturday's game, was active during infield drills with his teammates and is expected to be available as a pinch-hitter.

"He's feeling better," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We decided to give him another day. He still has some stiffness and soreness. More than likely, he'll be ready to go [Sunday]."