MLB Player News

Howard (knee) is back in the lineup Thursday against the Mets, Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal reports.

Howard was held out of the lineup four consecutive games due to some issues with his knee, but it seems the extra days off have gotten the slugger back on track to finish out the season. Howard will take over at first base and is expected to get a good number of starts there as the Phillies give him a nice sendoff for all the years he spent with the team.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI against the Padres on Wednesday.

After a 21-game homer drought in which Goldschmidt hit an uncharacteristic .244/.351/.308 with a whopping 28 strikeouts, he's found his stroke again in emphatic fashion over the last two games, banging out three homers among four hits. Obviously, the first baseman is a fantasy star, but in this season of increased offense across baseball, Goldy's fallen surprisingly short of his usual standards -- he's 10 shy of last year's 33 homers and 20 away from last year's 110 RBI with only a week and a half left to play.

Cabrera went 1-for-5 with a first-inning, two-run home run in the Mets' 4-3 loss at the hands of the Braves.

Cabrera followed up a Jose Reyes leadoff walk with a towering, upper-deck home run to right field. Cabrera now has 21 home runs on the year, 20 of them while playing shortstop, breaking a club record previously held by Reyes. The 30-year-old shortstop still has an outside chance of reaching his career high mark in homers of 25 set back in 2011.

Joseph went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, three RBI and two runs in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

Joseph's third-inning blast off White Sox starter Chris Sale was his 21st of the year, and his fourth in the team's last 10 games. After a brutal month of August (.211/.277/.404), the rookie first baseman has rebounded nicely in September. Through 47 at-bats this month, Joseph is hitting .340, his highest average for any month this season.

Flores (wrist) tried swinging Wednesday but his injured wrist flared up and he's unsure about what the next step will be, The Record's Matt Ehalt reports.

It sounds like Flores is out indefinitely after this setback, and far from a lock to return before the end of the regular season. T.J. Rivera should continue to handle the duties at the keystone in his absence.

Bell reached base two times Tuesday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.

The rookie is batting .312/.416/.462 in 113 plate appearances, including an 18:10 BB:K. Pirates GM Neal Huntington said Sunday that Bell's defense continues to be a work in progress at first base. He also recognized the offensive threat Bell brings to the plate.

Goldschmidt homered and knocked in two runners in a 2-for-4 game Tuesday against San Diego.

This is just Goldschmidt's second homer of September as he has struggled to find his power stroke in the final month of the season. With just 21 blasts this season, he will fall well short of the 33 home runs he posted in 2015. Still, it's hard to argue with his overall performance, as Tuesday's game elevated his season line to .297/.413/.484.

Joseph went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run and an RBI in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the White Sox.

Joseph continues to flash excellent power, with 14 doubles to go along with 20 homers for a .510 slugging percentage in 326 plate appearances. The rookie has a six-game hitting streak going, and is proving to be a far superior option at first base to veteran Ryan Howard.

Cabrera filled up the stat sheet Tuesday, going 3-for-3 with a double, two walks, an RBI, a run, and a steal.

Cabrera's big night against Julio Teheran and the Braves was not enough, as the Mets lost 5-4. Cabrera now has 29 doubles and five steals on the year to go along with his .279 batting average. He's only managed 50 RBI in the Mets' struggling offense despite a career-best .470 slugging percentage.

Howard (knee) will be held out of the lineup Wednesday, but is available to pinch hit, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Some reports cropped up that Howard may not be injured anymore, but manager Pete Mackanin seems content with keeping him on the bench for the time being so that the slugger's knee doesn't flare up and spoil his last hurrah in Philadelphia. Howard could return to the lineup as soon as Thursday when the Phillies face right-hander Seth Lugo and the Mets, but in the meantime, Tommy Joseph will continue to see starts at first base.