MLB Player News

Maile will start at catcher and bat ninth Friday against the Tigers.

After Danny Jansen earned the Opening Day start, Maile will get his first regular-season action Friday with the left-handed Matthew Boyd slated to start for the Tigers. The 28-year-old is coming off a tough spring training that saw him go 2-for-21 at the plate, but he's an effective catcher who frames pitches well which should help him earn a handful of at-bats when Jansen hits the pine.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Tigers.

Jansen received the starting nod in Thursday's season opener and went 0-for-3 with one strikeout. The 23-year-old figures to be a regular fixture behind the plate for the Blue Jays this season, though Luke Maile will grab the start Friday.

Murphy was traded to the Mariners from the Giants on Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Murphy was claimed off waivers by the Giants at the start of this week but didn't make the Opening Day roster and was designated for assignment shortly thereafter. The only other catchers on Seattle's 40-man roster are Omar Narvaez and David Freitas -- who was optioned to Triple-A -- so Murphy will now have a chance to serve as the backup catcher. According to Greg Johns of MLB.com, Murphy will draw his first start in a Mariners uniform on Sunday in the series finale against the Red Sox.

McCann started at catcher Opening Day and went 0-for-3 in a 5-3 loss to the Royals.

McCann was the battery mate for Carlos Rodon, who worked well with the catcher during spring training, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. It's not clear if McCann will be the personal catcher for Rodon, or if the decision was borne out of McCann having a stronger arm than Welington Castillo against the speedy Royals.

Barnes went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in the Dodgers' 12-5 win over the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Barnes carried his hot hitting from spring training over into Opening Day, touching up Arizona starter Zack Greinke with a fourth-inning solo shot as part of his three-hit day. Barnes had a tough year at the plate last year with a paltry .619 OPS over 200 at-bats, but he's looking locked in thus far in 2019. Pedro Moura of The Athletic reported that manager Dave Roberts said he expects Barnes to get at least 60 percent of the starts behind the dish, with the rest of those starts set to go to veteran Russell Martin.

The Pirates officially placed Diaz (illness) on the 10-day injured list prior to Thursday's game against the Reds.

The transaction was set in motion several weeks ago when the Pirates ruled Diaz out for Opening Day while he remained away from the team to recover from a viral illness. Diaz has since shaken the illness and is expected to participate in simulated games or embark on a minor-league rehab assignment by the end of next week. That could put Diaz on track to return from the IL around mid-April.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Narvaez will head to the bench for Thursday's home-opener as the Red Sox look to stack right-handed hitters against lefty Chris Sale. In his place, David Freitas will start behind the dish and hit eighth.

Perez went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in a 9-3 exhibition win over the Tigers on Tuesday.

Perez's 386-foot blast to right in the fourth inning was his first round tripper of the exhibition slate. The 24-year-old backstop finished spring play with a .235 average, although half of his eight hits went for extra bases. Perez will serve as a left-handed complement to Mike Zunino behind the dish during the coming season after slashing .284/.304/.392 across his first 80 major-league plate appearances in 2018.

The Angels reassigned Thaiss to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Thaiss stuck around for the entirety of the Angels' big-league camp, slashing .372/.413/.674 with nine extra-base hits across 46 plate appearances this spring. The 23-year-old should get the call to the majors at some point in 2019 but could have trouble finding regular at-bats if all of Shohei Ohtani (elbow), Albert Pujols and Justin Bour are on the active roster.

Murphy will not be on the Giants' Opening Day roster, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Murphy was claimed off waivers by the Giants on Monday, so there wasn't a significant opportunity to show his worth to the team. The 27-year-old is out of minor-league options, so he'll need to clear waivers before receiving further assignment. Murphy slashed .226/.250/.387 with 44 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances with the Rockies in 2018.