MLB Player News

Neto is not in the Angels' lineup Thursday against the Athletics, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

It's the first day off the rookie has received since his promotion. Neto hasn't gained much traction at the plate yet, although he does have six hits in his last 19 at-bats. Gio Urshela will handle shortstop Thursday.

Marcano is starting at second base and hitting leadoff Thursday versus the Dodgers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Ke'Bryan Hayes has largely settled into the leadoff role for the Pirates in the wake of Oneil Cruz's ankle fracture, but Hayes will get the day off Thursday. Marcano boasts an .851 OPS in 24 plate appearances since his April 15 promotion to the majors and has now started four of the last five games at second base for Pittsburgh.

Duran replaced Josh Jung at third base Wednesday after the latter was hit by a pitch on the hand. Duran went 0-for-2 and was caught stealing in a 5-3 loss to the Reds.

X-rays on Jung's hand came back negative for a fracture, and the Rangers are describing the injury as a contusion. That suggests his absence will be minimal. The Rangers begin a series against the Yankees on Thursday and face New York right-hander Gerrit Cole (4-0, 0.79 ERA). If Jung is unable to go, the righty-hitting Duran and lefty-swinging Brad Miller are options for the hot corner.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored Wednesday in a loss to the Angels.

The Athletics were routed in the contest, but Smith had a productive performance with his second homer and second multi-hit effort of the campaign. The infielder has started each of the first three games in the series against the Angels, going 4-for-10 with a pair of homers and four RBI.

Crawford went 3-for-4 with a double and a grand slam in Wednesday's loss to Philadelphia.

Crawford led off back-to-back home runs in the second inning, hitting a grand slam off Taijuan Walker that was followed up by a Julio Rodriguez solo homer. Crawford was as productive as a nine-hole hitter could be Wednesday, coming up just a triple shy of the cycle after hitting a single in the seventh and a double in the ninth. The shortstop has been quite productive in 2023 with a .271/.407/.414 slash line to pair with 14 runs scored in 87 plate appearances.

Anderson (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte this weekend, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

After landing on the 10-day injured list April 11, Anderson now appears ready to return to game action. If all goes well in Charlotte, the veteran shortstop could be activated ahead of Chicago's series against Minnesota on Tuesday. Anderson was slashing .298/.327/.404 before spraining his left knee.

Crawford isn't in the Giants' lineup for Wednesday's game against St. Louis, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

With Steven Matz starting for the Cardinals on Wednesday, Crawford and his .413 OPS against left-handers will take a seat. Thairo Estrada will take over at shortstop, allowing David Villar to start at second base and bat eighth.

Edman isn't starting Wednesday against the Giants, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Edman has been hot at the plate recently, boasting a 1.026 OPS over his last five games. However, he will sit Wednesday in favor of Paul DeJong, who will start at shortstop and bat ninth.

Bichette went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the White Sox.

Bichette drove in runs with all three of his hits Wednesday -- two RBI singles and a solo homer off Jimmy Lambert in the seventh inning. The 25-year-old Bichette had cooled off after a hot start to the season, going 8-for-38 with just one extra-base hit in his previous 10 games. He's still slashing an outstanding .340/.381/.528 with five home runs, 15 RBI and 15 runs scored through 113 plate appearances this year.

Volpe went 2-for-3 with two walks, a two-run double, three runs scored and an additional RBI in Wednesday's 12-6 win over the Twins.

Volpe struck out in his first plate appearance, but he smacked an RBI single his next time up and hit a two-run double in his third at-bat. He came around to score after both of those base knocks and notched a third run after walking in the eighth and scoring on a DJ LeMahieu sacrifice fly. It's been a mixed bag for Volpe to start his big-league career, but he's hit safely in six of his last eight, recording three multi-hit games and five RBI during that stretch.