MLB Player News

Cabrera exited Friday's contest with leg cramping, ESPN's Adam Rubin reports.

The veteran infielder made it through eight innings Friday before Matt Reynolds came on to replace him at shortstop. Prior to exiting Friday's game, Cabrera went 1-for-2 with a home run and a pair of walks. Given that he left Friday's game with cramping, there's a decent chance he'll be able to get back into the lineup Saturday.

Bell is back in the lineup batting second and playing right field Friday against Cincinnati.

With Starling Marte still nursing a back injury, Bell continues to get opportunities in the outfield. Marte is expected to return Saturday, so Bell will probably move back to first base shortly, but his bat has been too good for the Pirates not to find him a place in the lineup. He carries an .877 OPS into Friday's action.

Freeman will return from his unofficial paternity leave Saturday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Freeman was never placed on the paternity list thanks to expanded rosters, but he has been with his wife for the birth of their child since Wednesday. Expect him to return right to the heart of Atlanta's lineup on Saturday.

Flores received a cortisone shot in his injured wrist Friday, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

Flores said he still wasn't feeling great after receiving the shot but that he still hopes to return to play shortly. He is still expected to miss at least another couple of days, with a return early next week looking most likely.

Freeman (personal) is out of the lineup Friday against the Nationals.

He left the team Wednesday to be with his wife for the birth of the couple's first child, but was not officially placed on paternity leave -- there was really no need to do so with expanded rosters. It's uncertain when Freeman will return to the lineup but chances are he will be back before the end of the series.

Rizzo is out of the lineup Friday against the Brewers.

Manager Joe Maddon is resting his star players, as the team plans to celebrate, win or lose, after Friday's day game. Chris Coghlan will get the start at first base and hit fifth Friday.

Joseph will be on the bench for the next three games, Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports.

The Phillies intend to honor Ryan Howard as he closes out his career with the team. He'll start the next three games at home against the Marlins and the last three games of the season at home against the Mets. That will leave Joseph with nine more starts this season in a best case scenario, but he could end up losing playing time to Howard in some of those games as well.

Manager Pete Mackanin said Howard will start the next three games against the Marlins at first base, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Howard has been splitting time at first base fairly evenly of late with Tommy Joseph. Mackanin also said the Phillies plan to start Howard for the team's final three home games of the season against the Mets. They will be Howard's final games with the Phillies before he becomes a free agent.

Abreu went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a walk in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Indians.

Abreu has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball of late, as this was his 10th homer in the past 25 games. It was probably the most special of the bunch, though, as the Cuban slugger had promised a young cancer patient pre-game that he'd hit one out of the park for him. With 24 home runs and 95 RBI on the season, Abreu is just six and five, respectively, shy of becoming the second player in major-league history after Albert Pujols to reach 30 homers and 100 RBI in each of their first three seasons.

Bell is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Phillies.

Bell raised his batting average from .277 to .292 with eight hits over his last seven games, but manager Clint Hurdle still decided to give him a day off Thursday. John Jaso will get the start at first base in Bell's place.