MLB Player News

Mets infielder Wilmer Flores was forced out of Thursday's spring training game after being hit by a pitch on the wrist/forearm region, reports MLB.com. Manager Terry Collins told reporters that his hand was "fine" after the game, per ESPN.

Flores is viewed as the favorite to win the shortstop job after he hit .251 in 78 games and had a .979 fielding percentage at shortstop in 2014.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is not concerned about his hand this year, according to MLB.com.

Goldschmidt saw his first game action since last season on Tuesday, singling in his first at-bat since August 1. Goldschmidt missed the final two months of 2014 due to a broken hand, but said the injury has not been an issue during camp. 

"It was the last thing on my mind," Goldschmidt said. "It's not the first time I've gotten hit. It's not the first time I've gotten injured. Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but chances are something is going to happen in the future."

Goldschmidt has been wearing a small pad in his batting glove in order to prevent the injury should he get hit in the same spot. He's used the pad during batting practices, and said he doesn't even feel it. 

The 27-year-old hit .300/.396/.542 over 406 at-bats last season. 

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said Tuesday that he has cut sugar from his diet and lost 15-to-20 pounds, The News Journal reports.

Manager Ryne Sandberg said in February that he was impressed with Howard and his slimmer body. The first baseman finished 2 for 2 and made a nice play on a ground ball towards the hole in Tuesday's spring game against the Yankees.

"Getting into game situations now where you've got to put the crowd in effect and everything, picking up balls, that kind of stuff, reaction time, it felt pretty good," Howard said after the game.

Howard has worked with Charlie Manuel on his hitting and approach, and the results have helped the first baseman boost his confidence.

"It's definitely a great feeling," Howard said. "I'm confident in my ability, now it's getting the reps, getting the work in the game type situation and putting it all together."

Howard has struggled at the plate in recent years and hit just .223/.310/.380 with 23 home runs and 95 RBI in 569 at-bats.

Reds manager Bryan Price reiterated Tuesday first baseman Joey Votto's absence from the spring lineup shouldn't be a lengthy one, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Votto, who will not play in Tuesday's spring opener against the Indians, is behind other players in drills, including lateral movement and sliding.

"I don't anticipate it being in the middle of the schedule, it's really hard for me to say an exact date," Price said. "It really comes down to getting enough reps to where we're comfortable enough to put him out there and letting him play. It's not like we're going to see a huge separation between him and the rest of the guys."

Price added the team is just being cautious with Votto, who missed 100 games last season with a left knee injury.

"He's come this far, he's put in all the work to do this," Price said. "It just didn't make sense between the medical staff and myself until he gets as many ground balls and the opportunity to slide and cut and do all the drills and do all the things he wasn't able to do before he got to spring training."

Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who missed 100 games in 2014 due to a knee injury, will not play in Tuesday's spring opener against the Indians, as manager Bryan Price said Monday that Votto is not up to game speed yet.

Votto said Monday he feels good and expects to be in the spring lineup soon, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"I feel really, really good. I'm surpised at how good I feel this early," Votto said. "I feel like I'm trending toward being able to play games here in the not too distant future. I do feel like I need a little more time, but the time is not a byproduct of avoiding games or not being ready when I need to be ready. It's just to make sure that after taking eight months, 10 months, however long off of baseball, I have to play the game a little bit more to get ready to get the volume in and get the reps it."

When asked about former Mets teammate Ruben Tejada, Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes shook his head and said "something is wrong," per Newsday.

Reyes revealed that during his final season with the Mets he tried to pass the torch to Tejada to become his replacement. Reyes landed in Miami in the offseason, and Tejada was destined to be his permanent replacement. Now entering spring training, Wilmer Flores is viewed as the favorite to win the starting job at shortstop for the Mets.

"Every time I talk to him I try to give him some advice," Reyes said. "What can I do? I try to push him to do stuff. I don't know if he gets it or not...He had the opportunity to be the everyday shortstop for a long time there in New York. You have to work, man. When you're younger, you think you have everything there for you. But if you do something wrong, it's going to go away. Quick.

"When I was there, I always give a lot of advice to him. We were always together. My last year there, every time I talk to him: 'This is going to be your position for a long time. Don't let it go away.' See what happened now? It's 2015 and he doesn't have a position to play. When they talk about who is going to play every day, they don't talk about Tejada. They talk about Flores."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is working on his swing, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Howard has spent time working with Charlie Manuel during camp. Manuel was brought in as spring training hitting instructor. Manager Ryan Sandberg has noticed the change in Howard's approach already. "As far as making some adjustments there, to really zone in to something that can really be productive for him and a little bit more consistent," Sandberg said. "I think there has been a little tweaking going on there."

Howard apparently has looked different at the plate. His stance has been described as "looser" and his hands are much lower when he starts his swing. 

The 35-year-old hit .223/.310/.380 over 569 at-bats last year. 

Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said Wednesday he has been impressed with veteran first baseman Ryan Howard following the team's first two full-squad workouts, per MLB.com.

"Ryno looks like, his body looks like right now, he's going to allow himself to be more productive," Sandberg said. "Just running the bases he looks better, a much better chance of scoring from second base. Much better getting to the cutoff spots playing first base. There should be more range there with the way that he looks from the waist down."

Howard has declined to talk to reporters since arriving for camp Monday. Some feel he could be playing with a chip on his shoulder after an interesting offseason, which included settling a nasty legal battle with his family, dealing with trade rumors and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. saying the Phillies would be better off without him.

"He doesn't act like he has a chip on his shoulder," Sandberg said. "He acts like he's a teammate here and he's a veteran guy helping the young players. So I like the attitude and the fact that he's getting after it and doing extra work with Charlie [Manuel], but with [Larry] Bowa in the mornings and sometimes afterwards on the defensive side of things. That'll go a long way with getting the most out of Ryno, really getting back to the ability and where he needs to be on the field."

Reds manager Bryan Price gave reporters positive reviews of first baseman Joey Votto through Cincinnati's first couple of workouts in Arizona, per MLB.com.

"He looks good," Price said. "The only thing he missed that the healthier players had the advantage of doing was really being able to immediately engage in baseball activity. He had to spend the first two-thirds of his offseason really focused on his continued rehab and strengthening. He hasn't had as much baseball activity as some of the guys who finished the year healthier.

"I'm really pleased with how he's moving around, how he looked in the cage, how he looked at first base. He was throwing the ball well, looked spry. I was happy to see that for sure."

Votto struggled with a left quadriceps injury in 2014 and did not play again after July 5. He hit .255/.390/.409 over 220 at-bats last season.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto fired back at some recent comments made about the team's lack of leadership in 2014, according to MLB.com.

Votto gathered a group of local beat writers, and said the criticisms lobbed by former Reds pitcher Mat Latos were off-base. Votto didn't directly address Latos, but the pitcher brought the issue to the public recently. "The thing that upsets me the most is the people that are talking about leadership and talking about our clubhouse are not in our clubhouse," Votto said. 

Votto went on to say that he believes the only reason there were negative stories about the team's leadership is due to their poor 2014 season. 

The 31-year-old Votto struggled with injuries last year, hitting .255/.390/.409 over 220 at-bats.