MLB Player News

Higgins went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals.

Higgins gave the Cubs an unexpected boost from the No. 9 spot in the order, going deep in the fifth inning with a runner on to put Chicago up 2-1. The 29-year-old has actually been swinging the bat pretty well this season, as he now has six home runs and an .884 OPS across 43 games. He could earn himself a little more playing time down the stretch, potentially at first base because Willson Contreras and Yan Gomes are ahead of him at catcher.

Beaty (shoulder) was reinstated from the 60-day IL on Tuesday and was subsequently optioned to Triple-A El Paso, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Beaty restarted his rehab assignment July 27 and is slashing .309/.433/.418 with a home run and seven RBI in 15 games since. He's back to full health, but the Padres don't appear to have room for him on the big-league roster at the moment. Beaty has struggled during his time in the majors this season, batting .108 with no homers and only one RBI over 37 at-bats.

Votto will undergo season-ending surgery Friday to address a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Votto wasn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Philadelphia, and he's apparently dealing with a shoulder injury that will end his season. The 38-year-old struggled to get things going in 2022 and slashed .205/.319/.370 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI and 31 runs over 91 games. Matt Reynolds should see increased playing time at first base until Mike Moustakas (calf) is cleared to return. It's not yet clear whether Votto is expected to be healthy in time for spring training in 2023.

Cooper is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Cooper battled some calf tightness last week, but he returned to the lineup Saturday and is ostensibly healthy again. However, he hasn't started in four of the Marlins' subsequent five contests, as the team has seemingly made finding more playing time for Lewin Diaz at first base a greater priority. Meanwhile, Jesus Aguilar has supplanted Cooper as the Marlins' top designated hitter as a result, though both players are on the bench Wednesday while No. 2 catcher Nick Fortes get a turn at DH after his two-homer performance in Tuesday's 4-3 win.

Votto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Votto's absence is presumably mostly due to the Reds concluding their series with the Phillies with a day game after a night game, but the 38-year-old could probably benefit from a mental reset in any case. Over his last five games, Votto has gone 0-for-21 with one walk and five strikeouts, dropping his season-long batting average and on-base percentage to .205 and .319, respectively. Matt Reynolds will spell the slumping six-time All-Star at first base Wednesday.

Hall went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 11-4 win over the Reds.

Hall got the Phillies' scoring started on the night with two outs in the third inning, when he took T.J. Zeuch deep to left field before Nick Castellanos followed him with another solo shot. The rookie designated hitter is getting on base at an underwhelming .298 clip this season, but he's been solid roster filler in traditional 5x5 fantasy leagues with a .264 average, nine home runs, 19 runs and 16 RBI in 131 plate appearances through his first 35 big-league games.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Mets.

The first baseman continued a power surge that has seen him leave the yard four times in the last six games and eight times in 24 contests since the All-Star break. Olson's up to 25 homers on the year, the fourth straight full season (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign) in which he's reached that plateau. With 79 RBI through 118 games, he's also on pace for his second straight 100-RBI season.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Rockies.

Goldschmidt has swatted three homers in his last five games. He's hitting .326 (14-for-43) in August, though a high average has been standard for the first baseman all year. He's up to a .328/.412/.618 slash line with 29 homers, 92 RBI, 81 runs scored and five stolen bases through 109 contests. The 34-year-old is on track to reach the 100-RBI mark for the first time since 2017.

Voit went 1-for-4 with one homer, one RBI and one run scored in Tuesday's 7-5 extra-innings loss to the Cubs.

Voit crushed a fastball to left field in the eighth inning to pull the game to 4-3 before Lane Thomas hit a home run later in the inning, which helped the Nationals send the game into extras. The homer is Voit's 16th on the season and first since Aug. 8. While the Nationals' lineup is weaker than San Diego's, the first baseman has been given every day playing time and is hitting in the middle of the lineup, providing him ample run-producing opportunities.

Hoskins went 3-for-6 with two homers, five RBI and a stolen base Tuesday in an 11-4 victory in Cincinnati.

Hoskins singled and stole second in the first, launched a three-run homer in the fourth and added a two-run blast in the eighth. So far in August, he has a .265/.390/.653 line with six homers in 14 games. With 26 homers, he's likely to surpass his career-high of 34 long balls set in 2018.