MLB Player News

Reds first baseman Joey Votto has begun baseball activities in recent days, he told the Cincinnati Enquirer Tuesday.

Votto, who has been sidelined since early July, due to a quad injury, has been taking dry swings and throwing, the first activities he has done since suffering the injury. Prior to this, he has been limited solely to strength exercises in the quad, though at this point it is not clear whether he has a timetable to return.  

Nationals infielder Asdrubal Cabrera is back in the lineup Tuesday against the Phillies, after sitting out one game with an injury to his side. He is batting second and starting at second base for Tuesday's game. 

Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera was held out of the starting lineup Monday against Philadelphia, according to Comcast SportsNet  Washington. Cabrera injured his side muscle swinging on Sunday. He owns a .249/.315/.396 slash line with 11 home runs, 50 RBI and seven stolen bases in 450 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera is day-to-day due to soreness in his right side, masnsports.com reports.

Cabrera went 2 for 3 with a walk and an RBI double in Sunday's game before coming out. He has hit .249/.315/.396 with 11 home runs, 50 RBI and seven stolen bases in 450 at-bats.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 1 for 2 with a walk and a solo home run in his team's 6-5 loss to the Cardinals Saturday.

Howard hadn't homered in more than two weeks before coming through with his sixth-inning shot Saturday. He has hit .223/.308/.380 with 19 home runs and 80 RBI in 466 at-bats.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto responded to comments that he's not tough enough to play, according to MLB.com.

Votto stressed that he's dealing with a serious injury, and tried to play through the pain earlier in the season. He reiterated that he didn't ask to be injured, and would return as soon as he's healthy.

"The second I’m capable of playing and I’m no longer injured, I’ll be back on the field," Votto said. "In the meantime, you can assume I’m injured. I shouldn’t get some sort of different treatment, as if this is — I’ve noticed little comments here and there and just a general perception that this is something I elected to do. I didn’t elect to be injured. I am injured. People get injured. I am injured. What can I do? At some point I’ll be back playing like I was playing before."

Votto has been sidelined since July 5 with a quad injury. He's hit .255/.390/.409 over 220 at-bats. 

The power surge of Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo continued Tuesday night - and it resulted in a rain-shortened win.

Rizzo blasted his fourth homer in eight games. His two-run shot in the first inning proved to be the only scoring. He is 4 for 6 with three runs and three RBI in the last two games to improve his stat line to .279/.378/.517.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo doubled and homered during a 4-1 win Monday against the Mets. He walked once and finished with two runs.

Rizzo broke a 1-all tie in the eighth inning with a solo home run off Buddy Carlyle. It was his 28th home run. He also now has 20 doubles.

Rizzo has homered three times in his last seven games. He did enter play Monday mired in a 0-for-10 slump in his last three games and batting .197 in his first 15 August games.

The Reds cleared a spot on the 40-man roster Saturday by moving first baseman Joey Votto to the 60-day disabled list.

Votto has been out since July 8 with a strained left quad, and this move will keep him out until at least early September. He is still a few weeks from beginning baseball activities, so this likely does not change his timetable much. 

First baseman Freddie Freeman certainly can't be blamed for his team's loss Thursday that left it one defeat short of .500. He led the Braves with two doubles and a single against the Dodgers and scored two runs.

Freeman has six multi-hit games in the last 11 as his average has been raised to .294, its highest point since July 13.