MLB Player News

Votto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs.

The first baseman took Alec Mills deep in the fourth inning. It was his 29th homer of the year and first since Aug. 20. Since hitting two home runs on Aug. 11, the 37-year-old has batted .207 with four long balls and 14 RBI in 26 games.

Bell went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk Wednesday against Atlanta.

Bell gave the Nationals a 2-0 cushion when he took Touki Toussaint deep with a solo blast to right-center field in the fourth inning. It was the 25th homer of the year for Bell, the third time he's reached that threshold in his career. He also opened the scoring earlier in the game with an RBI groundout in the first inning that plated leadoff hitter Lane Thomas. The 29-year-old Bell is slashing .252/.324/.480 over 469 plate appearances in his first season with Washington.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Diaz will take a seat for the first time since Aug. 29, ending a streak of nine consecutive starts. Though Diaz performed adequately during that stretch -- he hit .235 with a home run, two doubles and seven RBI -- it likely won't be enough for him to hold down a spot in the everyday lineup versus right-handed pitching. The lefty-hitting Ji-Man Choi (hamstring) was activated from the injured list earlier Wednesday and is expected to play regularly against right-handers, while the lefty-hitting Joey Wendle will hold down a large-side platoon role at third base.

Tellez isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Phillies, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Tellez recorded hits in each of the last four games and went 4-for-15 with two doubles, two runs and four strikeouts during that time. Daniel Vogelbach will start at first base and bat sixth.

Smith remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

After being activated from the injured list Monday, the lefty-hitting Smith was unsurprisingly on the bench for the Mets' matchup with Nationals lefty Patrick Corbin. Smith has since been held out of the lineup for both of the Mets' first two games in Miami, where the team has opposed back-to-back right-handers (Edward Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara) to begin the series. Jeff McNeil looks set to operate as the Mets' primary left fielder for the time being, leaving no room in the everyday lineup for Smith.

Voit is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

With Giancarlo Stanton occupying the designated hitter spot rather than right field, Voit will head to the bench for the second time in the series. Voit looks to be fighting Brett Gardner for one spot in the Yankees' everyday lineup.

Freeman went 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of runs in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Nationals.

Freeman has now scored at least one run in five straight games, crossing home plate eight times in total over that stretch. His placement in the heart of a potent Atlanta lineup should help Freeman's chances of contending for the MLB lead in the runs category. With 103 on the season, Freeman is tied with Toronto's Bo Bichette for second in baseball, trailing only Bichette's teammate, Vladimir Guerrero (105) for first place.

Flores (hamstring) could be reinstated from the 10-day injured list as early as Sunday, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Flores was initially expected to miss a couple weeks after he was placed on the injured list Sept. 2, but manager Gabe Kapler said Wednesday that the infielder could be back in action following a minimal absence. Even if the 30-year-old rejoins the major-league roster without a rehab assignment, he should see fairly regular playing time once he's activated.

Ellis is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

After starting at third base three times in a four-game stretch last week, Ellis will be on the bench for the third straight contest Wednesday. It's worth noting that each of the righty-hitting Ellis' previous three starts came versus left-handed pitchers, so he looks like he'll fill the short side of a platoon at the hot corner with the lefty-hitting Josh VanMeter now that Asdrubal Cabrera is no longer on the roster.

Santana went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 7-3 loss to the Orioles.

He took Alexander Wells deep in the fourth inning, but the Royals were already in a 6-1 hole at that point. Santana is now one homer shy of his eighth season with 20 or more, but his .703 OPS (on a .225/.329/.374 slash line) would be the worst mark of his career over a full schedule.