MLB Player News

Cordoba got another start in left field Saturday, going 1-for-3 with a walk in a 4-2 loss to Atlanta.

The Rule 5 draft pick was suspected to have made the Opening Day roster solely for management to retain his rights, but that may not be entirely true. The 21-year-old utility man earned two starts in left field spelling Travis Jankowski early on. He owns a .364 batting average in those 12 plate appearances, but none of his hits have gone for extra bases. Cordoba should continue to see a start or two a week, but he won't gain standard league fantasy value until an injury or lack of production opens up a regular role for him.

Turner (hamstring) believes he's ahead of schedule and should be ready to come off the DL when first eligible Wednesday, MLB.com's Jamal Collier reports.

Turner was seen running sprints in advance of Sunday's game and later proceeded to take batting practice and perform fielding drills for the second day in a row. He'll likely be active in pregame warmups early in the week, and although the team hasn't confirmed it, a Wednesday return is looking more and more likely.

Turner (hamstring) was spotted running sprints in advance of Sunday's matchup against the Phillies, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

It's another good sign for Turner, who was able to take batting practice and perform defensive drills before Saturday's game. The team has yet to commit to a Wednesday activation, but it seems as if Turner could be back in action as soon as he's eligible.

Ahmed went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season and four RBI in an 8-4 loss to the Dodgers on Saturday.

Ahmed's three-run homer in the second inning gave the Diamondbacks a brief lead, but the Dodgers would even the score in the bottom half of the inning before ultimately pulling away later in the contest. The shortstop has historically brought more value at the field than at the dish, but he's off to a good start offensively to begin 2017, going 6-for-17 while appearing in seven games. Unfortunately for Ahmed, the team's primary shortstop, Chris Owings, has been hot in his own right to begin the season, so Ahmed doesn't have a clear path to everyday at-bats.

Owings is not in the lineup Saturday against the Dodgers.

After starting 10 of the Diamondbacks' first 11 games, Owings will take a breather as Nick Ahmed gets the nod at shortstop. Owings is off to a nice start to the season, going 14-for-41 (.341) with one homer, six RBI and four stolen bases. He should find himself back in the lineup for Sunday's matchup.

Crawford (personal) returned to the starting lineup Friday, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in a win over Colorado.

Crawford had been dealing with a death in the family, explaining his absence from the lineup Wednesday and Thursday. He returned with a bang, taking left-hander Tyler Anderson deep in the fourth inning. With Buster Posey (concussion) on the disabled list, Crawford will bat one spot higher in the lineup, giving him even more potential for RBI.

Rojas went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored in Friday's win over the Mets.

The walk ended up being one of the key plays in the game, as he raced home from first on J.T. Realmuto's double in the bottom of the ninth for the winning run. Rojas' fantasy value remains limited due to his lack of power or speed, but with six hits in his last two games, he's put himself on the radar in deep NL-only formats, and the Marlins may well try to find ways to keep him in the lineup on a semi-regular basis even after Adeiny Hechavarria (oblique) and Martin Prado (hamstring) return to action.

Gordon went 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base in Friday's win over the Mets.

The second baseman has three three-hit performances in his last four games and is now hitting .326 on the year, while the steal was his third in 10 games. After his 2016 campaign was scuttled by an 80-game PED suspension, it looks like Gordon is intent on returning to his impressive 2015 form.

Turner (hamstring) took batting practice Friday and had to be shooed off the field afterwards by third base coach Bobby Henley before he could get in many reps on defense, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

All signs point to Turner being ready to come off the disabled list Wednesday after the minimum 10 days, but manager Dusty Baker won't yet commit to that timetable. "He hit the other day, and said he felt pretty good. He's been getting a lot of treatment, riding the bike, and running as tolerated," Baker said. "So my experience with hamstrings is whenever they tell you they're ready, I believe in giving them another couple days." In fantasy leagues with weekly transactions, GMs with shares in Turner might face a tough choice on whether to activate him after this weekend or play it safe and wait until the following week, but either way the 23-year-old looks set to be back at the top of the Nats' batting order very soon.

Crawford will be in the lineup Friday against Colorado, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The Giants have yet to release their lineup, but it has been confirmed that Crawford will indeed start for the Giants against Tyler Anderson and the Rockies. Crawford briefly left the team to tend to a family emergency, but was able to make a pinch hit appearance Thursday. It's still unclear whether Crawford will eventually head to the bereavement list, but for now, he will remain in the lineup.