MLB Player News

Manager Pete Mackanin confirmed Wednesday the Phillies have discussed bringing Joseph up from the minors, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Joseph entered Wednesday leading the International League in batting average, slugging and OPS. The Phillies haven't been getting much from Darin Ruf of late, so he could head to the minors and Joseph could slot into Ruf's platoon role at first base with Ryan Howard.

Flores will be placed on the disabled list Thursday with a left hamstring injury.

Flores suffered the injury in Monday's game, though it is not believed to have occurred on his stolen base attempt, during which his helmet popped off and cut him on his forehead. He has backed up at all four infield positions, but due to better health than expected by David Wright, a solid start by the incumbent at each spot and a lack of left-handed opposing starting pitchers, Flores has seen minimal at-bats.

Bour went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer Wednesday in a 3-2 win over the Brewers.

The fifth-inning long ball against Milwaukee starter Chase Anderson was crucial in such a close game, as it broke a scoreless tie. Although Bour hasn't exactly been lighting fantasy owners' hearts on fire this year, he does own a higher OPS than last year (.846 to .800). However, considering the lefty slugger gets basically no at-bats against southpaws, his fantasy utility remains limited to very deep leagues and daily formats.

Freeman went 3-for-4 with his third homer in four games and two runs scored against the Phillies on Wednesday.

After a slow start, the stats are coming up, but Atlanta's horrendous offense is severely limiting Freeman's counting stats -- he has six homers, but only 10 RBI and 14 runs, numbers that simply aren't going to set fantasy owners' hearts racing even if they come with solid average and a strong OPS. That said, the Braves just got Ender Inciarte back and Nick Markakis gets on base a lot, so Freeman should see some kind of uptick in RBI opportunities moving forward.

Votto is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates.

Votto will get a routine day off as the Reds go with Jordan Pacheco at first base. Pacheco will bat seventh against Pittsburgh's Juan Nicasio.

The Phillies could give Joseph a look at first base with Darin Ruf struggling to produce this season, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Ruf has hit just .164 with a .413 OPS and 18 strikeouts in 55 at-bats this season. He destroyed left-handed pitching last season, so the Phils could opt to stick with him a bit longer. If not, Joseph looks ready for an opportunity. He is hitting .368/.391/.655 with six home runs in 87 at-bats for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. His playing time would likely be limited, at least initially, while on the short side of a platoon with Ryan Howard.

Freeman hit his fifth home run, a solo shot, in a 2-for-4 game in Tuesday's loss to Philadelphia.

Freeman has a pair of dingers to go with three walks in his last three games. He got off to a slow start in terms of power production this season, but his slugging percentage is now up to .464, right between his 2014 mark (.461) and 2015 mark (.471). While it's looking unlikely at this point in his career that Freeman develops into a major power threat, he has been very consistent. He has hit between 18 and 23 home runs each of the past five seasons and should be expected to land there again this year if he stays healthy.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

Goldy is hitting just .194 this month, but he has seven total bases in his first two games of 2016 at Coors Field, and will hope this can be a sign of better things to come. He remains on pace for strong power numbers this season, and his other counting stats should catch up as he finds some consistency at the plate.

Freeman is 6-for-18 (.333) with three extra-base hits, including a home run over his last 10 games.

He went 0-for-4 Sunday, but before that, he registered a hit in 17 of the prior 20 games. During that time, his average rose from .080 to .275. Going into Tuesday's game, Freeman is slashing .264/.376/.434 with four homers, eight RBI and 11 runs in 106 at-bats.

Bell, 23, is hitting .290/.385/.450 with three home runs and 17 RBI through 26 games for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Bell has not homered over his last 10 games, though he continues to hit for average. In fact, he has not batted under .274 at any level since entering the minors. Still, his upside as a first baseman, or a corner outfielder for that matter, is limited by his inability to hit the ball out of the ballpark.