MLB Player News

Baez went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Brewers.

He was the only Cub to reach third base all game. It was Baez's second multi-hit performance in his last three games, but he was mired in an 0-for-17 mini-slump prior to that, leaving him with a .255/.286/.519 slash line on the year.

Crawford is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rockies.

Crawford takes a seat after starting the last five games at third base. He hit .308/.438/.385 over that small stretch, potentially giving manager Gabe Kapler reason to plug his name into the lineup more regularly going forward, though his season line is still a weak .203/.276/.329. Maikel Franco will play third base Wednesday.

Ahmed is not starting Tuesday against Pittsburgh.

Ketel Marte will slide over to shortstop, with Daniel Descalso starting at second base. Ahmed is hitting just .223 on the saeson, though his nine homers (already tied for his career high) are a fair total for a shortstop.

Owings went 0-for-2 with two runs scored Monday in the Diamondbacks' 9-5 win over the Pirates.

Though Owings is expected to occupy the short end of a platoon with Jarrod Dyson in center field following the recent acquisition of Jon Jay, Owings was surprisingly awarded a start over Dyson on Monday even with a right-hander (Joe Musgrove) on the bump for Pittsburgh. Owings rewarded manager Torey Lovullo's decision to include him in the lineup, as he came around to score both times he reached base and made the defensive highlight of the night, snaring a deep fly off the bat of Jordy Mercer in the sixth inning and then doubling Josh Bell off at first base. Owings is still hitting a weak .193/.267/.301 for the season, so he'll need several more quality games before earning a regular role.

Cordoba (concussion) played his first game of the season for High-A Lake Elsinore on Monday, Bill Center of MLB.com reports.

Cordoba had been out all season after suffering a concussion in a car crash in mid-February. He's listed as being on a rehab assignment, but there's no guarantee he'll end up back in the majors once the assignment concludes, as he'd never played above rookie ball before being taken by the Padres in the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2017 season. He didn't do much to demand major-league time last season, hitting just .208/.282/.297. With the Padres having fulfilled their obligation to keep him in the majors all season last year, they can now continue his development at a more appropriate level this season.

DeJong (hand) began light baseball activities Monday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

DeJong was able to field grounders for the first time since fracturing his hand last month. He'll be reevaluated later in the week, but barring any setbacks, the Cardinals are hoping to have the shortstop back before the end of June, according to Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Owings went 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and an RBI in the Diamondbacks' 8-3 win over the Rockies on Sunday.

After moving to the bench for the first two games of the series, Owings entered the lineup Sunday in place of a resting David Peralta and kept the Diamondbacks offense humming. With a .770 OPS to go with two stolen bases over his last 12 games, Owings' production has been on the upswing of late, but it may be too late for him to recapture a full-time role in the outfield after the Diamondbacks acquired Jon Jay from the Royals on Wednesday to give the team a much-needed on-base threat atop the order.

Ahmed went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, a run and an RBI in the Diamondbacks' 8-3 win over the Rockies on Sunday.

After sitting out Friday's victory, Ahmed came up big in the final two games of the series in Colorado, going 4-for-8 with a home run, four RBI and three runs. The RBI and run totals exceeded Ahmed's production from the previous eight games combined, so it will be difficult to rely on him outside of very deep mixed leagues and NL-only formats as he returns to a more neutral offensive environment in Arizona for the Diamondbacks' seven-game slate this week.

Crawford went 4-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in the Giants' 2-0 victory over the Nationals on Sunday.

Crawford continued his ridiculous hot streak of recent weeks with this four-hit performance bringing his slash line up to a shiny .338/.385/.536 through 222 at-bats. Those numbers make him one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball to start the season, and even if Crawford's average ends up evening out back toward his career mark of .257 as the year progresses, he certainly has the look of a player primed for a career-best campaign at the plate.

Swanson will start at shortstop and bat second Sunday against the Dodgers, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

With a 10-for-31 (.323 average) showing at the dish so far this month, Swanson earned a promotion up in the lineup and will serve as the Braves' No. 2 hitter for the fourth straight contest. Swanson's move up in the order has come at the expense of third baseman Johan Camargo, who will hit in the bottom third of the lineup for the third consecutive contest.