MLB Player News

Torres will start at second base and lead off Saturday against the Astros.

A pitch off his right thumb forced Torres from Friday's game, but X-rays were negative and it appears the second baseman won't even miss a start as a result of the injury. Torres, who is 0-for-7 with a walk and a run scored through two games this season, appears set to handle primary leadoff duties in the absence of DJ LeMahieu (foot), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Lowe is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays.

Lowe started the first two games of the season, going 3-for-8 with a grand slam and a walk over that span. With left-hander Yusei Kikuchi taking the mound for the Blue Jays on Saturday, the left-handed-hitting Lowe will head to the bench while Curtis Mead gets the start at second base.

Gimenez went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 6-4 win over the Athletics.

Gimenez started slow at the plate in spring training but got on track quickly, ending the Cactus League slate hitting. 340 (16-for-47) over 18 contests. He's carried it over into the early stages of the regular season, going 4-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored. He was also caught stealing Friday on his first attempt of the season after going 30-for-36 on the basepaths in 2023. Gimenez hit .251 with a .713 OPS last season, so he's looking for a bounce-back campaign.

Westburg will start at second base and hit in the No. 8 spot Saturday against the Angels.

Westburg started at DH and batted sixth on Opening Day. He finished the game going 1-for-3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Ryan O'Hearn will be the designated hitter and No. 5 hitter Saturday against Angels right-hander Griffin Canning, while Westburg shifts to second base for Jorge Mateo.

Dunn will start at third base and bat seventh in Saturday's game against the Mets.

An 11th-round pick in 2019, Dunn reached as high as Triple-A with the Yankees, but he spent last season at Double-A Reading in the Phillies organization. He'll be making his big-league debut Saturday against right-hander Luis Severino after Andruw Monasterio got the Opening Day start at the hot corner. New manager Pat Murphy may just be looking to work everyone in early on this season; it's probably too early to say Dunn is leading a platoon. However, the 26-year-old has some power and speed -- enough to make him interesting in deep leagues if he's playing regularly.

Ibanez is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the White Sox.

Ibanez started at third base in the Tigers' season opener Thursday and batted in the leadoff spot against lefty Garrett Crochet. He finished the game going 1-for-2 with one RBI on a sacrifice fly. Zach McKinstry will draw the start at third base Saturday and bat ninth against White Sox right-hander Michael Soroka.

Ortiz isn't in the Brewers' lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.

Ortiz started at second base Friday against left-handed starter Jose Quintana, but he will begin Saturday's contest in the dugout with righty Luis Severino on the mound for New York. The left-handed bats of Brice Turang and Oliver Dunn will cover second and third base, respectively.

Marte went 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 7-3 win over the Rockies.

Marte picked up where he left off after a scorching spring with two consecutive three-hit games to open the regular season. The second baseman slashed .370/.424/.574 with eight extra-base hits in 57 spring plate appearances.

Lowe went 2-for-5 with a grand slam in Friday's 8-2 win over the Blue Jays.

The second baseman put Tampa Bay in the lead for good by crushing a Chris Bassitt cutter to deep right-center field in the third inning with the bases loaded. Lowe slugged 21 homers in 109 games last season while slashing .231/.328/.443, but if he can stay healthy in 2024 he's capable of a lot more, even if he's mainly limited to a strong-side platoon role for the matchup-focused Rays.

X-rays on Torres' right thumb came back negative Friday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Torres took a pitch off his right thumb in the top of the seventh inning of Friday's contest and initially remained in the game to run around the bases. However, he requested to be removed during the bottom of the seventh due to concerns over his ability to throw the ball. It seems the 27-year-old second baseman was able to escape without any serious damage to his thumb, but he may still sit out a game or two to recover.