MLB Player News

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo went 2 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 6-1 loss to the Reds Monday.

Rizzo evened the score at 1-1 with his sixth inning home run, but the Cubs were able to do no more damage, and they didn't have an answer for the Reds' five-run ninth inning. The first baseman has hit .281/.399/.513 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI in 263 at-bats. Eight of his home runs have come in his last 22 games dating back to May 31.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu went 2 for 4 with a double, a home run and three RBI in his team's 6-4 loss to the Orioles Monday.

Abreu, who served as the designated hitter in the game, earned his first RBI on a groundout in the third inning before smacking a solo home run in the sixth inning to even the game at 2-2. He collected his third RBI on a seventh-inning double that put his team up 4-2, but the Orioles offense came through in the end to deny the White Sox a win. Abreu has hit .274/.322/.613 with 22 home runs and 60 RBI in 248 at-bats during his rookie season.

When the Angels released Raul Ibanez this weekend, it didn't get much attention in Fantasy. He wasn't contributing much of anything himself, and at age 42, nobody expected him to.

But his loss is, of course, another player's gain, and that player just so happened to be a legitimate prospect coming into the year.

Maybe C.J. Cron is overlooked in Fantasy because he's spent much of his two months in the majors as a part-timer or, at times, even a reserve. But with Ibanez out of the picture, he's in line for everyday at-bats now, which makes his performance to date ... interesting, to say the least.

In 112 at-bats, he has hit .286 with six home runs and an .846 OPS, making him out to be what some prognosticators have suggested he is: another Mark Trumbo-type player. Or at least close to it. He may trade off some of Trumbo's homers for a higher batting average since his strikeout rate is a good bit lower, but even so, he could settle into being a .275-.280 hitter with 30-homer power.

Maybe in points leagues, his poor walk rate is enough to scare you away, but in Rotisserie, Cron should probably be starting at corner infield for someone.

Angels first baseman C.J. Cron entered the weekend with two homers in his last 27 games. He proceeded to bash a solo homer in three straight games as the Angels swept the Rangers.

Cron seems on his way to securing a regular spot in the lineup, especially with Saturday's release of Raul Ibanez.

"You don't really want to go a long period without seeing live pitching, and I did, but I prepared as if I was playing," Cron told MLB.com. "I think that helped me a lot getting back into it, and obviously, the more at-bats, the more pitches you see, the better you get."

Cron is hitting .286/.310/.536 with six homers and 18 RBI.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto started a 12th straight game Sunday against the Blue Jays since coming off the disabled list due to a left quadriceps strain. Votto is batting .318 with five doubles, nine RBI, eight runs and seven walks in 11 games since returning to the lineup.

"It's doing well enough. We haven't really had a big regression," manager Bryan Price said, per MLB.com. "It certainly points that over this 16-game stretch without a day off that Joey will get a break. He's playing very well. You see the way he runs the bases and defensively how he breaks to the ball and gets out of the batter's box.

"[But] I know he's not 100 percent. There's still some fatigue and tenderness in his knee, but it's been something he's been able to manage up to this point."

Indians manager Terry Francona said the emergence of Lonnie Chisenhall has been one of the primary reasons he's moved Carlos Santana to first base, per MLB.com.

"To be honest with you, we're trying to put the best team out there that we can," Francona said prior to Sunday's game. "Lonnie [Chisenhall], I don't think there's anybody that would argue, deserves to be playing third base. So, we don't do the positions necessarily by what guys want to do. Lonnie has done a heck of a job.

"Carlos worked really hard [at third base], but what's kind of cool is that I think all the work he put in at third, I think it's made him a better first baseman. He's more active. He's more agile. Again, we'll see where it goes."

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Reds first baseman Joey Votto will receive a day off soon, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Votto's quad injury has not bothered him, so manager Bryan Price just wants to be cautious. Price mentioned that Votto has not experienced any setbacks since his return. Over 180 at-bats, Votto is hitting .272/.409/.444.

Marlins first baseman Justin Bour has been bumped from the team's starting lineup Sunday.

Bour was set to start at first base, but things changed once Derek Dietrich was promoted. Dietrich will start at second, which pushes Jeff Baker to first base.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu has a career-high six-game hitting streak after recording two singles Saturday. He has driven in a run or homered in 11 of his last 22 games and is showing no ill effects with his earlier battle with ankle tendinitis, reports MLB.com.

"He's fine. He hasn't talked about it, he hasn't even brought it up," manager Robin Ventura said of Abreu. "Even when he's running around, you see him running pretty good. Sometimes it looks like something is there, but he ran like that when he first got here, so I think that's just part of the way he runs."

Abreu is hitting .271 with 21 homers and 55 RBI in 240 at-bats.