MLB Player News

Mateo will start at designated hitter and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Reds.

Mateo will stick in the lineup for a fifth straight game Sunday, this time handling a non-defensive role after his prior three starts came at shortstop. Atlanta could continue to move forward with Mateo as its primary option at shortstop over Ha-Seong Kim, who is in the lineup Sunday but may be ticketed for a part-time role after slashing just .095/.191/.095 over his 47 plate appearances since being activated from the injured list May 11. Mateo, meanwhile, has been much more productive when called upon this season, generating an .845 OPS while going 7-for-8 on stolen-base attempts in 81 plate appearances. With his playing time on the rise, Mateo could be worth a look for fantasy managers looking to make up ground in the steals category in particular.

The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a flexor strain in his right elbow.

It's unclear exactly how long the 20-year-old has been dealing with the injury, but general manager Ben Cherington indicated that Griffin will likely be in line for a "short-term stay" on the IL, per Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ryan O'Hearn (quadriceps) was reinstated from the 10-day IL in a corresponding move.

Bogaerts went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk against Washington in a loss Saturday.

Bogaerts kicked off the scoring with a 417-foot solo shot to center field in the second inning. The long ball was his first since he went deep in back-to-back games May 5-6. The veteran infielder has struggled at the plate since those pair of contests, batting just .181 with only four RBI over 20 contests. However, he did swipe five bases during that span and is 9-for-9 on theft attempts this season.

Lawlar (wrist) started in center field and went 1-for-1 with a double, a walk and a hit by pitch for the Diamondbacks' Arizona Complex League affiliate Saturday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Lawlar also had an outfield assist while playing all seven innings. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday that Lawlar will play at least one more game in the ACL before shifting to a higher level to continue his rehab assignment.

Fien has exclusively played in the outfield for Single-A Fredericksburg this season, seeing four games in center field and seven in right field while also DHing in five games.

The 19-year-old was drafted as a shortstop by the Rangers with the 12th overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, but since being acquired by the Nationals in the offseason MacKenzie Gore trade, he's been shifted to the outfield. Eli Willits, the first overall pick in that draft class, is also at Fredericksburg and is a better defensive shortstop, while Ronny Cruz and Devin Fitz-Gerald are both ahead of Fien in the pipeline at High-A, so a position switch may have been prompted by a need to make sure he gets consistent at-bats. Fien hasn't yet found his rhythm at the plate since returning from a wrist injury in mid-May, slashing .174/.296/.283 with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 54 plate appearances.

Betts went 3-for-4 with a double and one RBI in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies.

This was Betts' second three-hit game over his last four contests. The shortstop is hitting .209 (14-for-67) since he returned from an oblique strain. On the year, he's batting .200 with a .673 OPS, six homers, 16 RBI, 13 runs scored and three doubles over 103 plate appearances.

Kim isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Cincinnati.

Kim will grab a seat on the bench for a third consecutive game after going just 4-for-42 (.095) in 12 games since his return from the injured list. Jorge Mateo will start at shortstop for the third game in a row, and he could continue to get extra playing time while Atlanta waits for Kim to get on track after making his season debut a few weeks ago.

Griffin went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases in Friday's 6-5 win over the Twins.

The 20-year-old rookie is up to 14 steals in 15 attempts through his first 50 big-league games. Griffin is more than holding his own at the plate as well, and through 24 contests in May he's slashing .301/.359/.452 with nine extra-base hits including two homers, nine RBI and 19 runs.

Lawlar (wrist) took live at-bats Friday, MLB.com reports.

Lawlar took live at-bats for the first time since suffering a fractured right wrist in early April, facing off against the rehabbing Corbin Burnes (elbow). Pending the outcome of Friday's activity, Lawlar could play in a complex game Saturday. He's projected to rejoin the Diamondbacks during the second week of June.

Perdomo went 3-for-6 with a solo home run, a double and three total runs scored in Friday's 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Mariners.

Perdomo's last long ball was May 1 versus the Cubs. In the 24 contests in between homers, he hit a meager .200 with five doubles and 11 RBI. The shortstop hasn't come close to replicating his breakout year from 2025 -- he's batting .232 with a .703 OPS, three homers, 21 RBI, 26 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples and eight stolen bases over 53 contests this season. While his numbers are down across the board, Perdomo still offers enough speed to be enticing in fantasy if he can get on base enough to use that skill.