MLB Player News

Jeffers isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against St. Louis.

Jeffers and Christian Vazquez are expected to split reps behind the dish this season, and the Twins will give the latter a chance to start Saturday after Jeffers started the season opener Thursday.

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

With southpaw Nestor Cortes set to throw the first pitch for Milwaukee, the lefty-hitting Rice will remain on the bench to begin the game. Jasson Dominguez will serve as the DH instead while Cody Bellinger starts in left field, allowing Trent Grisham to start in center and bat ninth.

Dingler went 2-for-5 with a triple, a home run and three RBI in Friday's 8-5 extra-inning loss to the Dodgers.

After Jake Rogers got the nod behind the plate in the Tigers' opener Thursday, it was Dingler's turn Friday and he made an immediate impact with his bat when he launched a second-inning solo shot off Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The 26-year-old backstop then nearly played hero with a two-run triple in the top of the 10th, only for Beau Brieske to blow the save in the bottom of the frame. Dingler flashed some big power in the minors, including 17 homers in only 71 games at Triple-A Toledo in 2024, and if the second-round pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft gets rolling, he could muscle his way into a significant role for Detroit.

Heim went 2-for-3 with two solo home runs in Texas' 4-1 win over the Red Sox on Friday.

Swatting a pair of home runs is not a bad way to collect your first two hits of the season, and with that, Heim now has two multi-HR games across his five seasons in the majors. His first home run in the third inning Friday barely cleared the right-field wall, but his fifth-inning shot was a bit more convincing at 417 feet. Although Heim didn't start the season opener, he's expected to remain the Rangers' 1A this season and is showing early signs of a bounce-back campaign after finishing 2024 with a .603 OPS.

Rogers isn't in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Dodgers.

Rogers will take a seat Friday after going 1-for-3 with a walk on Opening Day. Dillon Dingler will catch for Jack Flaherty instead and bat seventh.

Higashioka is absent from the lineup for Friday's game versus the Red Sox.

Higashioka was behind the dish for Thursday's opener and went 1-for-4 with an RBI double, but he will yield to Jonah Heim for the second game of the series. The catching duties for the Rangers are likely to be split fairly evenly between the two players this season.

Jansen (rib) is starting at catcher and batting sixth in Friday's opener against the Rockies.

Jansen missed the last several days of spring training with a pulled muscle in his ribcage, but he came out of a simulated game Wednesday with no issues and is ready to roll. The former Blue Jay is expected to receive the bulk of the reps at catcher for the Rays this season.

Rutschman went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 12-2 win over Toronto.

After homering in the first inning off Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios, Rutschman went deep once again during the eighth frame to add to the Opening Day rout. Rutschman's hot bat in spring training appears to have carried into the regular season to begin the year, as the star backstop went 15-for-42 (.357) with three long balls and eight RBI in the Grapefruit League.

O'Hoppe went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Thursday's 8-1 Opening Day loss to the White Sox.

O'Hoppe was responsible for two of the Angels' five hits Thursday and their only run of the game thanks to a 417-foot solo homer off Cam Booser during the ninth inning. O'Hoppe is looking to build off a solid 2024 campaign in which he slashed .244/.303/.409 with 20 home runs and 56 RBI across 522 plate appearances, though he'll look to lower his 29.7 percent strikeout rate.

Higashioka started at catcher and went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Red Sox.

Higashioka got the call behind the plate against a left-hander ahead of primary backstop Jonah Heim. The Rangers are expected to have a relatively even split at catcher, so this may not be a strict platoon based on the the handedness of the opponent's starter. Higashioka has hit double-digit home runs in four consecutive campaigns while never getting more than 246 at-bats in any one season.