MLB Player News

Mauricio might get called up to take over the starting job at second base with the Mets, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The 22-year-old's .348/.384/.586 slash line at Triple-A this season makes a good case for promotion all on its own, but the Mets are also getting little production out of the left field duo of Mark Canha and Tommy Pham. Moving Jeff McNeil out to left on a full-time basis would then open up the keystone for Mauricio, adding another top prospect to a Mets youth movement that already features Francisco Alvarez at catcher, Brett Baty at third base and Mark Vientos in a utility/DH role.

The Pirates revealed Wednesday that they expect Cruz (fibula) to be able to remove his walking boot within the next 10-14 days, MLB.com reports.

At that point, Cruz will begin regaining strength and range of motion in his surgically repaired left leg. Cruz fractured his fibula in early April and the team said at the time they expected a four-month recovery, which tentatively puts him in line to be back sometime in August.

Tovar went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk Thursday against the Marlins.

Tovar was the hero of Thursday's win, delivering a walk-off single in the ninth inning. He is in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, though he has only one multi-hit game to go along with one RBI and one run scored in that span. Tovar has shown promise sporadically during his first full season in the majors, though he has only a 55 wRC+ and .275 wOBA through the first two months.

Schmitt went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored in Thursday's 5-0 win over the Brewers.

Schmitt contributed a two-run double in the Giants' four-run eighth inning. After hitting safely in nine of his first 10 major-league games, Schmitt has cooled off a bit, going 5-for-22 (.227) over his last six contests. The infielder is slashing .339/.339/.516 with two home runs, two steals, 12 RBI and nine runs scored through 62 plate appearances, and it appears the Giants are committed to getting his bat -- and perhaps more notably, his glove -- into the lineup on a near-everyday basis.

Swanson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 10-1 loss to the Mets.

Swanson popped his fifth home run of the season in the first inning, but then he cooled off along with his teammates. The shortstop has been solid in his first year with the Cubs, as he's now batting .265 with a .783 OPS. He'll have to get going on the power front, however, if he wants to reach the 25 home runs he tallied last year with Atlanta.

Diaz is absent from the lineup Thursday at Seattle.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a double Wednesday, and while he holds a paltry .189/.244/.243 slash line on the season, he is batting .308 (8-for-26) in eight games since returning from a hamstring injury. With prospect Jordan Diaz back in Triple-A, the 32-year-old Diaz appears to be on the short side of a platoon at second base with Tony Kemp.

Crawford is not in the lineup Thursday against the Brewers.

Casey Schmitt will play shortstop and bat eighth versus the Brewers and right-hander Julio Teheran. J.D. Davis is at third base and hitting cleanup. Crawford, 36, carries a brutal .172/.252/.323 slash line through 103 plate appearances this season with San Francisco.

Franco went 1-for-2 with a triple, two runs scored and two steals in Thursday's 6-3 victory over the Blue Jays.

The 22-year-old ripped a one-out triple in the first inning before scoring the game's first run on a Randy Arozarena base hit. Franco would later draw a pair of walks and tallied two of the Rays' seven stolen bases in the contest. He finished the four-game set against Toronto 6-for-14 with two triples and three stolen bases. Franco is slashing a stellar .288/.355/.490 with seven home runs, 25 RBI and 30 runs scored while going 17-for-22 in stolen base attempts.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in a loss to the Mariners on Wednesday.

Diaz accounted for the Athletics' only run of the night with a seventh-inning two-bagger, his first extra-base hit since April 15. The veteran has been productive at the plate of late despite the lack of impactful hits, however, as he's now sporting a .308 average over the 26 plate appearances covering his last eight games.

Abrams went 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Padres.

Facing the team that selected him sixth overall in the 2019 MLB Draft, Abrams made a nuisance of himself from the bottom of the Nationals' order. The walk was a rarity for the 22-year-old shortstop -- his last one came April 23 -- and his inability to control the strike zone continues to limit his production. Through 20 games in May, Abrams is slashing .269/.279/.448 with three of his five homers and three of his six steals on the year.