MLB Player News

Reds first baseman Joey Votto failed to draw a walk Wednesday against the Cubs, which was the first time in eight games he didn't get a walk. In fact, it was just the second time in 19 games Votto failed to draw a walk.

Votto hit .294 with a .473 on-base percentage, .515 slugging percentage and .987 OPS in his last 20 games. He has three doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, 13 runs and 20 walks in that span.

Twins outfielder Chris Colabello is not in the team's starting lineup for Game 1 Thursday.

Colabello will be replaced by Sam Fuld in right field. He's hitting .295 through 95 at-bats to open the season. He should make an appearance for Game 2. 

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had a remarkable game Wednesday against the Reds, as he reached base five times in a 9-4 win.

Rizzo opened the game with a two-run home run in the first inning, but didn't really need his bat for the rest of the game. He finished the game with walks in four straight plate appearances, ultimately scoring three runs.

After his four-walk performance, Rizzo now has as many walks (18) as strikeouts on the season. He is hitting .283/.407/.457 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 26 games. 

The Mets are not optimistic about infielder Wilmer Flores' chances of becoming an everyday shortstop at the major-league level, a source told the New York Post. 

Indians third baseman/catcher Carlos Santana continued to emerge from a season-long slump Tuesday night against the Angels.

Santana slugged his second home run in two games and has doubled his RBI total on the year with six in those two games. He has four hits during that time to break free from a 3-for-58 slide.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun ditched the walking boot and was able to play catch Monday, MLB.com reports. He is expected to be out until at least mid-May.

"He's out of the boot and walking around, but he's still sore," manager Mike Scioscia said.

Indians third baseman Carlos Santana broke out of a 1-for-27 slide with a home run in his team's 6-3 loss to the Angels in Los Angeles on Monday.

Santana launched a three-run home run off Tyler Skaggs in the fourth inning. He finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and three RBI. He is hitting .140 with two home runs and six RBI in 86 at-bats.

Mets Triple-A infielder Wilmer Flores is day-to-day due to a finger injury, ESPNNewYork.com reports.

Flores was able to avoid a fracture after leaving Sunday's game with Las Vegas due to a jammed finger. He has hit .250/.319/.333 with one home run and 11 RBI in 84 at-bats.

The hits kept coming for White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu on Sunday, as he went deep and plated four runs in his team's 9-2 win over the Rays.

Abreu took David Price deep in the sixth inning for a two-run home run. He added a two-run single in the following inning. He went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and four RBI, improving his batting average to .262 on the year.

Abreu leads the league with 10 home runs, 31 RBI and a.631 slugging percentage through his first 26 games (103 at-bats). He has three home runs and 10 RBI in his last three games.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is obviously seeing the ball well since having a broken piece of contact lens removed from his eye in recent days.

Following a 3-or-4 performance to end a three-game hitless skid Friday, Freeman once again made an impact Saturday against the Reds. He hit a first-inning two-run home run, before ultimately finishing the game 1 for 4 in a 4-1 win.

Freeman is hitting .352/.431/.636 with six home runs and 16 RBI in 23 games this season.