MLB Player News

Delay had his contract selected by the Pirates on Thursday.

Delay will open the 2023 season as the Pirates' backup catcher. He won the gig this spring over both Tyler Heineman and Kevin Plawecki.

The Padres optioned Sullivan to Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.

He'll miss out on a spot on the Padres' Opening Day roster with the Friars electing to go with Luis Campusano as their No. 2 catcher behind Austin Nola. Sullivan, 29, slashed .250/.318/.350 over 11 games during Cactus League play.

Marchan (hand/wrist) was placed on the 60-day injured list Thursday.

Marchan was initially believed to have a bruised right hamate bone, but further testing has revealed a fracture. Garrett Stubbs will open as the backup catcher for the Phillies behind J.T. Realmuto.

The Giants reassigned Wynns to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.

Wynns missed out on a spot on the Opening Day roster with the Giants opting to begin the season with Joey Bart, Roberto Perez and Blake Sabol as its three catchers. The 32-year-old previously logged 177 plate appearances with San Francisco in 2022, slashing .259/.313/.358 with three home runs and 21 RBI.

The Giants selected Perez's contract Thursday, and he'll start at catcher and bat ninth in San Francisco's Opening Day game at Yankee Stadium, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

The team had already made it known a few days earlier that Perez would make the Opening Day roster, but it's still somewhat surprising that he's getting the starting nod Thursday over Joey Bart, who had been expected to see the lion's share of the work behind the dish in 2023. The fact that Perez is drawing the first start of the season could hint that a timeshare between the two backstops could be in place until Bart shows more improved plate discipline after he struck out at a 38.5 percent clip in 2022.

Bart is not in the Giants' starting lineup for Thursday's season opener against the Yankees.

Roberto Perez will start at catcher and bat ninth against right-hander Gerrit Cole. It looks like there will be a sort of timeshare between Bart and Perez in the early going. They're both right-handed hitters, so it's not a natural platoon.

D'Arnaud is in the designated hitter spot and batting eighth for Atlanta on Thursday versus the Nationals, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Sean Murphy will catch Max Fried, but d'Arnaud still managed to find his way into the batting order. It could be a fairly common occurrence versus lefties, with Marcell Ozuna playing the outfield and Eddie Rosario sitting.

The Nationals placed Pineda on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right finger fracture.

Pineda suffered the injury in early March. There's a good chance he'll go to the minors once healthy.

Barnes went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in Tuesday's exhibition contest against the Angels.

Barnes slashed just .182/.250/.227 for the Dodgers this spring, though he hit much better for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, posting a .278/.409/.389 slash line over five games. Barnes isn't regarded as a major offensive threat, but he should provide stability behind the plate as the backup to Will Smith for the Dodgers again this season.

Herrera will be on the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Carson Kelly's fractured forearm has cleared the path for Gabriel Moreno to open the 2023 season as the primary catcher in Arizona, and for Herrera to back him up. Herrera is considered a strong defender, but the 26-year-old batted just .189/.250/.207 over his first 47 major-league games in 2022.