MLB Player News

Votto went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 4-2 win over St. Louis.

The veteran first baseman took John Lester deep in the fourth inning for his second long ball in as many games and his 30th overall this season. This marks the first time that Votto has swatted 30 homers since the 2017 campaign, when he went deep 36 times in 162 games. He appears to be breaking out of a slump that saw him hit a meager .174 with no homers and only four RBI across 46 at-bats between Aug. 21 and Sept. 7.

Cron went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 11-2 win over Philadelphia.

The first baseman hit a solo shot in the seventh inning and sparked a five-run rally in the ninth with an RBI single before he scored on Elias Diaz's grand slam. Cron has taken a step back from his remarkable August, going just 8-for-34 (.235) since the calendar flipped to September. He's at a .274/.373/.539 slash line with 27 long balls, 82 RBI, 60 runs scored and a stolen base through 469 plate appearances overall.

Abreu went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and a walk in Friday's 4-3 win over Boston.

Abreu launched a three-run shot off Tanner Houck in the third inning, his 29th home run of the year. After producing a 1.043 OPS with 10 homers in August, the slugging first baseman is up to three extra-base hits with five RBI so far this month. Abreu is slashing .265/.347/.498 with 107 RBI on the year.

Beaty was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Beaty was sent to the minors in late August, and he hit .357 with three doubles, five runs and four RBI across nine games following his demotion. He'll take on a depth role in the majors after Billy McKinney (hip) was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday.

Ellis was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

Ellis has done very little with his 83 major-league plate appearances this season, hitting .130/.277/.203. He'll head to the minors as the Diamondbacks clear a spot for Seth Beer.

Gurriel isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel will get his first day off in nearly a month after he hit .316 with a homer, five runs and two RBI across the last five games. Aledmys Diaz will start at first base and bat seventh.

Voit is not starting Friday against the Mets.

The slugger was absent from the starting nine in the previous two games, and now it becomes even harder to work him into the lineup without a DH in the NL park. Nonetheless, he has a strong chance to appear in the game off the bench and could draw a start at first base later in the series.

Vaughn is not starting Friday against the Red Sox.

Vaughn failed to record a hit or walk in 13 at-bats during the series in Oakland, so it's not surprising to see him take a seat for Friday's series opener. Eloy Jimenez (knee) returns to the lineup as the DH as Gavin Sheets draws the start in left field.

Solano (illness) is expected to begin a rehab assignment over the weekend, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Solano has been out since testing positive for COVID-19 in late August. Previous reports indicated he could return to the active roster by the end of the weekend, but it looks as though the Giants would rather see him get into a few minor-league games first. Given that he's only been out for just over two weeks, he shouldn't need a lengthy rehab assignment, meaning he should be back on the active roster sometime early next week.

Voit hit a solo home run in his only at-bat during Thursday's 6-4 loss to Toronto.

The 30-year-old pinch hit for Tyler Wade in the ninth inning and went back-to-back with Gary Sanchez, but that only got the Yankees back within two runs. Voit hadn't hit a homer since Aug. 27, although he's received just 26 at-bats across 11 games in that time. Playing time will likely be hard to come by for Voit despite his solid .253/.333/.442 slash line in 213 plate appearances. With Anthony Rizzo manning first base and Giancarlo Stanton alternating between right field and designated hitter frequently, Voit's been limited to a part-time role in the lineup.