MLB Player News

Diaz is starting in the designated hitter spot and batting sixth for the Astros in Thursday's opener versus the White Sox.

The Astros are carrying three catchers in part so they can use Diaz at DH and he's in that slot for the first regular-season contest. It enhances his fantasy outlook, although he might not yet be catcher-eligible in your league. Worth remembering is that Michael Brantley (shoulder) will be used at DH when he's ready, as will Yordan Alvarez.

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.

The Astros selected Salazar's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday.

Houston is carrying three catcher on their Opening Day roster, which could allow Yainer Diaz to see some starts at designated hitter. Salazar will be making his major-league debut when he gets into a game.

The Yankees placed Rortvedt (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Rortvedt required surgery for a left shoulder aneurysm back in February and is still getting back up to speed. He'll probably head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre once he's activated from the IL.

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.

The Orioles selected Bemboom's contract from Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

Bemboom appeared set to serve as organizational catching depth at Norfolk to open the season, but he'll end up serving as the No. 2 backstop behind Adley Rutschman after James McCann suffered an oblique strain late last week and was placed on the 10-day injured list. Until McCann is deemed ready to rejoin the big club, expect Bemboom to pick up only one or two starts per week behind the dish while Rutschman shoulders a heavy workload.