MLB Player News

Seager (hamstring) is expected to begin a rehab assignment Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Seager has been on the 10-day injured list since April 12 due to a left hamstring strain, but he continues to make progress in his recovery. Considering he's missed almost a month of action, he'll likely need a handful of contests to get back up to speed before the Rangers activate him.

Crawford (calf) was spotted running in the outfield at Oracle Park on Monday and has started to ramp up baseball activities, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco report.

Crawford was placed on the 10-day injured list May 1 due to a right calf strain, though the Giants quickly noted that it could be a quick trip to the IL for the infielder. Depending on how the injury responds to an uptick in activity, it's possible Crawford could be back in the starting lineup sometime this week.

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.