MLB Player News

De La Cruz went 0-for-2 with two walks, stole two bases and scored a run in Cincinnati's loss to Texas on Friday.

Despite not being able to tally a base hit during Friday's game, De La Cruz was able to make his presence felt by drawing a walk in the first inning and eventually stealing home to score Cincinnati's first and only run of the game. He walked again and stole second base in the fifth inning, giving him an MLB-best 17 thefts on the season. Along with his exceptional baserunning, the 22-year-old infielder has been outstanding at the plate, slashing .299/.419/.621 with seven homers and 18 RBI through his first 105 plate appearances.

Newman started at shortstop and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-1 loss to Seattle.

Newman homered for the second time in the last three games. He's started four straight and six of the last seven, more opportunities than had been expected for him when his contract was selected earlier this month. A combination of Geraldo Perdomo's knee injury and a Blaze Alexander's brief hamstring absence contributed to the spike in play. Alexander returned to action Wednesday and should get the bulk of starts at shortstop until Perdomo is ready, although Newman's defense has been better than Alexander's thus far. Newman is batting .186 (8-for-43) with a walk, two doubles, two homers and eight RBI over 14 games.

Neto went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI in Friday's loss to Minnesota.

Neto doubled and scored in the sixth inning and later added an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. After producing just two multi-hit efforts through his first 21 games, the second-year shortstop has collected multiple hits in three of his last four games. He still has plenty of work to do, but his season OPS has jumped from .449 to .646 during this recent hot streak.

General manager Justin Hollander said Friday that Crawford (oblique) likely won't be activated from the injured list when he's eligible May 5, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Crawford was placed on the injured list Thursday with a Grade 1 oblique strain -- the least severe type of strain -- though it appears the 29-year-old shortstop is still facing an extended absence. Hollander didn't provide an exact timeline for Crawford's return, but a 2-to-3 week absence seems to be the best possible scenario.

Witt went 1-for-4 with a triple, three RBI and a run scored during Friday's 8-0 win at Detroit.

The 23-year-old started the scoring with a sacrifice fly during the third inning and added a two-run triple as part of a seven-run ninth for the Royals. Witt is in a bit of a power drought with no homers in his past 14 games, though he does have six RBI and three steals over his last four contests.

Grissom (hamstring) will play back-to-back full rehab games at Triple-A Worcester on Saturday and Sunday and could be activated from the injured list Tuesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Grissom has gone 5-for-22 with two doubles and two steals so far in seven rehab games as he works his way back from a hamstring injury. As long as he comes out of Saturday's and Sunday's contests with no issues, he could be ready for his Red Sox and season debut Tuesday against the Giants. Grissom is slated to be Boston's everyday second baseman, although it's possible he'll have extra off days mixed in initially.

Allen is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Orioles.

Allen started the previous eight games but will take a seat after going 5-for-22 with a solo home run during that stretch. Darell Hernaiz will step in at shortstop and bat seventh Friday.

Winn is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Winn started the previous nine games but will take a seat Friday after he posted a .208/.394/.292 slash line during that stretch. Brandon Crawford will receive a start at shortstop in the series opener at New York.

The Orioles optioned Holliday to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday.

The top prospect made his big-league debut April 10 in Boston to much fanfare, but he looked entirely overmatched at the plate in his first couple weeks of MLB action. Holliday went 2-for-34 with two walks, five runs and 18 strikeouts in 10 games, so the Orioles opted to return him to Norfolk. The 20-year-old could rejoin Baltimore for another look later in the season, but for now he'll head back to Triple-A, where he posted a 1.077 OPS in 56 plate appearances to start the year.

Abrams went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's loss to the Dodgers.

The 23-year-old shortstop saw a nine-game hitting streak end on Wednesday, but he wasted no time getting going again. Over his last 14 contests since returning from a minor finger injury, Abrams is slashing .293/.349/.638 with four of his six homers and two of his five steals on the season.