MLB Player News

Seager (hamstring) is expected to begin a rehab assignment Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Seager has been on the 10-day injured list since April 12 due to a left hamstring strain, but he continues to make progress in his recovery. Considering he's missed almost a month of action, he'll likely need a handful of contests to get back up to speed before the Rangers activate him.

Neto is hitting ninth and playing shortstop in Monday's contest against the Astros, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Neto took Sunday off and dealt with a bruised finger in the middle of last week. The rookie shortstop will bat at the bottom of the lineup, with Taylor Ward grabbing the top spot while playing left field.

Crawford, who went 2-for-4 in Sunday's win over the Astros, has now reached safely in seven straight games.

The veteran shortstop also cleared the bases Saturday with a clutch double, so he was a thorn in the side of Astros pitching over the last two games of the series. Crawford's current .378 on-base percentage is by far the highest of his career, a number largely built on his highest walk rate (18.0 percent) since his rookie 2017 season in Philadelphia.

Franco went 1-for-5 with a stolen base Sunday against the Yankees.

Franco had a relatively quiet game but now has at least one hit in six of his last seven games. In that span, he has hit .321 with six RBI and seven runs scored to go along with three stolen bases. Franco has had an excellent start to the season, maintaining a .299 batting average with an .898 OPS across 147 plate appearances. He's also swiped eight bases, matching his total from the entire 2022 campaign.

Mateo stole a base as a pinch runner in Sunday's 3-2 extra-innings loss to Atlanta.

Mateo ran for Anthony Santander in the 10th inning and stole second, but he was left on base. Off days have been rare for Mateo this season, and it's for good reason -- he's slashing .304/.353/.565 through 29 contests. He's added 12 steals on 14 tries, six home runs, 19 RBI and 24 runs scored through 105 plate appearances.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk, a stolen base and two total runs scored in Sunday's 16-8 win over the Angels.

Travis Jankowski (hamstring) left the game in the second inning, and Smith filled in admirably. The homer was Smith's second of the season, and it put the Rangers ahead 7-3. This was the utility man's first game action in May after he played semi-regularly in April. He's slashing .154/.353/.269 with three RBI, 11 runs scored and one steal through 69 plate appearances. If Jankowski ends up on the injured list, Smith could be a strong-side platoon option in left field.

Duran went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run, an additional run scored and three strikeouts in Sunday's 16-8 win over the Angels.

Duran got the Rangers on the board with his blast in the second inning. This was his fifth multi-hit effort in his last nine games, a span in which he has three homers, 10 RBI and a 0:7 BB:K. The infielder raised his slash line to .318/.348/.506 with four homers, 16 RBI, 12 runs scored and two stolen bases through 26 contests this season. He hasn't had a major issue with strikeouts, fanning at a 24.7 percent rate, but he's also drawn just one walk this season.

Neto is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.

After exiting Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Cardinals with a bruised finger on his right hand, Neto proceeded to start at shortstop in each of the next three games while going 1-for-12 with two walks, two RBI and a run scored. Though Neto will take a seat for the series finale, Angels manager Phil Nevin is labeling the rookie's absence as more of a rest day rather than a setback, per Valenzuela. The day off should allow Neto's bruised finger to heal a little more before he likely returns to action Monday against the Astros.

Allen will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Royals.

Allen will start at shortstop for the fifth time in six games despite going an unremarkable 2-for-12 with four strikeouts and one walk since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday. He's poised to serve as Oakland's top option at the position while Aledmys Diaz (hamstring) is on the 10-day injured list.

Mateo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

According to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com, manager Brandon Hyde suggested after Saturday's 5-4 loss to Atlanta that Mateo was in line to get the series finale off for maintenance purposes. With Mateo on the bench Sunday, Gunnar Henderson will shift from third base to shortstop.