MLB Player News

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.

Knizner was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday.

Knizner entered spring training with a chance to compete for backup duties to Yadier Molina, but those odds took a hit when the Cardinals signed Matt Wieters in late February. The 24-year-old had a .313/.368/.430 slash line between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018.

Diaz (illness) will open the 2019 campaign on the injured list, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

He missed the entire Grapefruit League due to a viral infection. Pittsburgh is confident in backup Jacob Stallings, but Diaz represents an appreciable offensive upgrade over Stallings. Diaz has been working out and taking part in simulated games, but he likely won't return until the middle of April, at the earliest.

Perez started behind the plate and played four innings in the Indians' exhibition finale Tuesday against the Rangers, finishing 1-for-2 with a base hit and a strikeout.

Injuries to Jose Ramirez (knee), Francisco Lindor (calf) and Jason Kipnis (calf) leave the Tribe lineup in flux heading into Thursday's season opener in Minnesota, but Perez looks on track to be included in the starting nine and hit somewhere in the bottom half of the order. Perez wrapped up the spring with a .279 average and two home runs in 43 plate appearances, but his career .205/.298/.340 regular-season slash line is a better representation of what to expect from the backstop in 2019. He'll earn starts on the strength of his defense, with the Indians viewing anything he provides as a hitter as a bonus.

D'Arnaud (elbow) will be placed on the injured list at the start of the season, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

D'Arnaud is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he was able to play in some spring games, so his absence may not be a long one. Tomas Nido will back up Wilson Ramos in d'Arnaud's absence.

Rupp accepted an assignment to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday.

Rupp was the odd man out in the Tigers' catcher contest, falling third behind Grayson Greiner and John Hicks. He'll head to the minors and wait for an injury to open up playing time.