MLB Player News

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (wrist) hit and threw Sunday, according to MLB.com. He will be re-evaluated Sunday night.

Freeman, who had two cortisone injections, underwent another MRI, which revealed fluid in his wrist. The Braves still don't have a return date.

Freeman took 30 dry swings Sunday. He said he got close to 100 percent intensity.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 2 for 4 with two RBI in Saturday's win over the Braves.

Rizzo is now hitting .357 with 10 hits, a home run and five RBI over his last nine games.

Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said first baseman Freddie Freeman could start his rehab assignment Sunday or Monday, reports AJC.com.

"Freddie's going through the rehab, he's feeling better," Hart said. "We're going to attempt to get him out and let him start doing a few more things where he can go live, and maybe get him in some games, and then just see where it goes from here. But there was a level of optimism here in the last couple of days, where it looks like it's starting to work itself out."

Freeman is on the disabled list with a wrist injury and he is not expected to return until the first week of August.

"I think this weekend is going to be big for him in terms of where we're at come Monday," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Can he go down to Orlando and start working himself into some kind of baseball shape. Talking to him, he felt that [the wrist] is kind of turning the corner a little bit on him."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 2 for 3 at the plate with two RBI in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Giants.

Goldschmidt drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning. His second RBI came on another sacrifice fly in the third inning. He also walked once.

Goldschmidt is hitting .268 with one home run and seven RBI in his last 11 games.

Braves general manager John Hart said first baseman Freddie Freeman might not be ready to return to action by the first week of July, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. 

Freeman has been out on the disabled list with a wrist injury since June 23 (retroactive to June 18). There was hope that he would be able to rejoin the team by the end of July, but now it appears the middle of August is the best-case scenario.

"It’s more serious than we expected. I’m hoping he’ll be back before the first of August but he may not be," Hart said. "He’s working hard to get back but it’s a slow-healing injury and it still gives him pain when he swings.

"He dinged it, played four or five days with it, and we gave him a few days off. We gave him an injection and thought he would be back in two or three days but it was no better. We did further tests and found it was more serious than we thought."

The Braves are 10-13 since Freeman went down, scoring just under three runs-per game in that span.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo started at designated hitter in Tuesday's All Star Game, the first Cub to do so since Mark Grace in 1993. 

Rizzo went 0 for 2 in the game and is 0 for 3 in his career. Rizzo played in last year's game as well. 

Rizzo has never started a regular season game at DH in his MLB or minor league career. 

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 1 for 3 in his third All Star Game on Tuesday. 

Goldschmidt scored a run in the game, the first Diamondback to score in the game since Luis Gonzalez in 2005. 

Goldschmidt has started the last two All Star Games and is 2 for 8 in his career. 

The National League released its starting lineup for the 2015 All-Star game on Monday.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen will bat leadoff and play center. He will be followed by Reds 3B Todd Frazier at third, Nationals OF Bryce Harper in right field, Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt at first, Giants catcher Buster Posey will be behind the plate, Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo will DH, Cardinals infielder Jhonny Peralta will play shortstop, Dodgers OF Joc Pederson will be in left with Rockies infielder DJ LeMahieu at second.

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke will be the starting pitcher and face Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was the team's lone bright spot in a 4-2 loss to the Giants on Sunday, driving in both runs. 

Howard tallied RBI singles in the seventh and ninth innings to increase his RBI total to a team-high 45. In his last 10 games, Howard has driven in nine runs. 

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt added to his MVP-like start to the season by hitting his 21st home run of the season during Sunday's loss to the Mets.

Goldschmidt went 1 for 4 with a solo blast. He now has a season slash line of .340/.455/.610.