MLB Player News

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.

The Pirates selected Owings' contract from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Monday's game against the Rockies.

Pittsburgh optioned Mark Mathias to Triple-A to clear a spot on the active roster for Owings, who submitted a .883 OPS over 50 plate appearances at Indianapolis. The 31-year-old has seen action at three infield spots as well as center field at Triple-A this season and should serve in a utility role while he's up with Pittsburgh.

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.

Arcia went 1-for-4 with a double in Sunday's extra-innings win over the Orioles.

Getting the start at shortstop and batting eighth in his return from a wrist injury, Arcia led off the fifth inning with a two-bagger, driving the ball the other way into the right-center gap. The 28-year-old also was his usual excellent self on defense and showed no real rust despite the fact that he didn't go out on a rehab assignment and hadn't seen game action since April 12. Arcia was having a fantastic beginning to the season before getting hurt, and he sports a .327/.389/.510 slash line with two homers, seven RBI and 10 runs in 14 contests.

The Pirates plan to select Owings' contract from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to Monday's game against the Rockies, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Mackey speculates that Owings will likely replace Mark Mathias on the 26-man active roster, but the Pirates have yet to confirm any transactions. While Owings isn't currently on the 40-man roster, the Pirates have an open spot. The 31-year-old utility player has an .883 OPS with two home runs in 13 games with Indianapolis this season.

Bliss earned the Diamondbacks' minor league Player of the Month award for April, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Bliss hit .410 (1.050 OPS) with eight doubles, two triples, two home runs, 14 RBI and eight stolen bases over 18 games at Double-A Amarillo. The shortstop hasn't stopped hitting in May, collecting two homers and five RBI with a .919 OPS through five games. It's a huge turnaround for the organization's second-round pick in the 2021 draft, who hit .214 with a .641 OPS last year for High-A Hillsboro. Bliss opted to grind through the season instead of working on his swing at the team's training facility and performed better, hitting .262 (.818 OPS) over July and August.

Wendle went 1-for-1 with an RBI triple in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Cubs.

Sunday was Wendle's first game back from the injured list since April 3 after he had been sidelined with a right intercostal strain. He pinch hit for Jacob Stallings in the 10th and would up roping an RBI triple down the right field line to put the Marlins up 3-2. Wendle's current role is a bit unknown after he began the year as the team's starting shortstop. He could wind up on the strong side of a platoon with Jon Berti, Garrett Hampson and even Jean Segura over at third base, with that trio struggling to hit right-handed pitching so far this season.

Berti went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Cubs.

Berti singled, stole second and scored in the eighth to put the Marlins up 2-0. It was his second steal over the last four games, and he's also put together seven hits over that span, although it hasn't led to any RBI. Berti doesn't really remain an intriguing fantasy asset if he's not stealing many bases. He sits at six for the year and is slashing .269/.325/.365 with two homers, eight RBI, 15 runs and a 9:21 BB:K over 116 plate appearances.

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.