MLB Player News

Mateo went 1-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 12-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

The utility man recorded his first steal as an Oriole, taking third base and scoring on an error in the third inning. While Mateo never had a chance at regular playing time in San Diego, he appears to be in the middle-infield mix with his new team, potentially splitting time with Ramon Urias (upper leg) and Richie Martin. The 26-year-old Mateo is 3-for-8 with a double and a triple through two games in Baltimore.

Bichette is out of the lineup Sunday against the Red Sox.

Bichette has started every game this season between shortstop and designated hitter, but he'll receive his first day off of 2021 in Sunday's series finale. Marcus Semien will shift to shortstop while Breyvic Valera starts at the keystone for Toronto.

Crawford (illness) is not in the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Crawford was held out of Saturday's lineup while dealing with flu-like symptoms, and he won't rejoin the starting nine for the series finale. He'll have Monday's scheduled off day to aid in his recovery, and he may be available off the bench Sunday, per Divish. Dylan Moore will receive another start at shortstop in his place.

Franco is 3-for-10 with a home run, three RBI and two runs over the first two games of the weekend series against the Orioles.

The rookie shortstop went 2-for-5 with a two-run single and a run in Friday's series opener before belting a 414-foot shot to right field in the eighth inning of Saturday's 12-3 win, his fourth homer of the campaign. Franco had been on an impressive tear coming into the series as well, as he'd produced a .319/.373/.447 slash line over the 51 plate appearances covering his previous 12 games.

Fletcher went 2-for-5 with a double and a stolen base in Friday's 4-3 victory over the Dodgers.

It's unclear what has led to Fletcher's sudden surge of activity on the basepaths, but the results have certainly been a boon to fantasy managers who roster him, as the infielder has swiped four bags in his past four games. He is now up to nine thefts on the season, surpassing his previous season high of eight set in 2019. Fletcher doesn't provide much power or run production, so his fantasy value will shoot up considerably if he can continue to add speed to a repertoire that already includes elite contact skills and a superb .308 batting average.

Crawford was held out of the lineup Saturday against the Yankees since he's feeling under the weather, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Crawford reported to the team that he was feeling ill Saturday morning, so he'll be held out as a precautionary measure. It's not yet clear whether he'll be ready to return for Sunday's series finale.

Crawford is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees.

Crawford extended his on-base streak to seven games Friday, and he's hit .345 with a double, four runs and three RBI during that time. Dylan Moore will take his place at shortstop and bat ninth.

Crawford enters Friday's game against the Yankees with a six-game on-base streak during which he's hitting .360 (9-for-25) with a double, two RBI, three walks and four runs.

That sample includes back-to-back two-hit efforts against the Rays and Yankees. Crawford's slash line is back up to a solid .272/.333/.367, with his batting average comfortably qualifying as a career high.

Witt has homered five times and stolen three bases in 15 games since his promotion to Triple-A Omaha, posting a .290/.338/.565 line in the process.

The mega-prospect's full minor-league line for the season is now .294/.363/.569 with 21 homers, 17 steals, 60 RBI and 60 runs. He's even trimmed his strikeout rate from 24 percent at Double-A to 21.6 percent at Triple-A. Just 21 years old, Witt looks ready for the big leagues, but the date of his eventual promotion remains an open question. At one point this spring, it seemed likely that he'd spend the majority of the campaign with the Royals, but as things stand now, it seems like he may not get called up until rosters expand in September or perhaps not until early 2022. Whenever he does get the call, he could make an instant impact.

Bichette went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Thursday's win over Cleveland.

Bichette reached the 20-homer plateau in style, sending a two-run bomb to left center while also scoring Vladimir Guerrero, but he wasn't done yet. He also plated Marcus Semien with an RBI single in the sixth, meaning he was responsible for all five runs for Toronto. Bichette is hitting .265 with a .786 OPS, two homers, nine RBI, seven runs scored and a 3:6 BB:K over his last 10 games.