MLB Player News

Braves infielder Pedro Ciriaco was in line to win the final spot on the major-league bench this season, but after the team acquired Cameron Maybin on Sunday, manager Fredi Gonzalez had to tell Ciriaco that he wouldn't be on the Opening Day roster, the Atlanta Journal-Consitution reports.

"You guys see it at the top level with (Craig) Kimbrel, but you didn’t see it with Ciriaco. That was tough," Gonzalez said. “Here’s a guy on Saturday, you bring him into the office and he’s scared to death, because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. And I say, congratulations, you made the team, barring anything crazy. And he starts crying. He had expected to be sent down. I tell him he had a hell of a spring and all the reasons we’re going to go with him, and he starts crying and he goes, 'It’s the first time I’ve made an Opening Day roster.' Well, (expletive), 12 hours later he’s not on the Opening Day roster, and you’ve got to have that conversation. I mean, it’s tough sometimes."

Ciriaco, who was reassigned to Triple-A Gwinett in the wake of the Kimbrel-Maybin trade, hit .373/.387/.492 in 59 spring at-bats.

Diamondbacks starting second baseman Chris Owings was held out of the starting lineup Tuesday against the Giants in favor of veteran infielder Aaron Hill.

Owings and Hill both started in Monday's season opener. Owings was at second base, while Hill was at third base.

Owings, who won the starting job in spring training, went 0 for 3 with one strikeout, while Hill went 2 for 4 with one run and one strikeout.

The Giants Opening Day lineup will go left fielder Norichika Aoki, second baseman Joe Panik, center fielder Angel Pagan, catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Brandon Belt, third baseman Casey McGehee, shortstop Brandon Crawford, right fielder Gregor Blanco and pitcher Madison Bumgarner.

It was uncertain where Aoki would be slotted in the lineup with manager Bruce Bochy experimenting with him leading off during spring training.

Diamondbacks rookie shortstop Nick Ahmed was able to start in Monday's season opener against the Giants after leaving Saturday's spring game with an arm injury. Ahmed, who hit eighth Monday, was hit by a pitch Saturday.

Ahmed, who won the starting shortstop job this spring, hit .311 with no home runs, five RBI, six doubles and 12 runs in 21 games. He also had three stolen bases this spring.

The Marlins have announced their starting lineup for Monday's Opening Day matchup against the Braves in Miami, with offseason acquisition Michael Morse slotted into the cleanup spot.

Morse is coming off a hot spring in which he hit .347/.429/.673 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 29 at-bats. He'll hit behind No. 3 hitter Giancarlo Stanton and ahead of third baseman Martin Prado.

The full Marlins lineup: 2B Dee Gordon, LF Christian Yelich, RF Stanton, 1B Morse, 3B Prado, CF Marcell Ozuna, C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, SS Adeiny Hechavarria, SP Henderson Alvarez.

Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed left Saturday's game after he was hit in the left arm by a pitch, manager Chip Hale said after the game per MLB.com.

Ahmed said after the game he was fine, but he will be re-evaluated Sunday. He has hit .311 with six doubles and five RBI in 61 plate appearances this spring.

Braves infielder Pedro Ciriaco is expected to earn the final bench spot on Atlanta's Opening Day roster, according to MLB.com. He has slashed .368/.373/.491 with two doubles, one triple, one home run and 14 RBI over 57 at-bats this spring.

The Mets are expected to go with an eight-man bullpen and a four-man bench, snubbing Eric Campbell from an Opening Day roster spot, according to ESPN.

Campbell hit .255 (14 for 55) with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI in 24 Grapefruit League games. The four-man bench will include Ruben Tejada, John Mayberry Jr., Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Anthony Recker.

Meanwhile, the eight-man bullpen will include Rafael Montero, Jeurys Familia, Jerry Blevins, Jenrry Mejia, Alex Torres, Carlos Torres, Sean Gilmartin, and Buddy Carlyle .

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale announced Nick Ahmed will start at shortstop and Chris Owings will start at second base to begin the season, according to MLB.com. As a result, Aaron Hill will come off of the bench. 

Hale said this decision was based on the performance of the three infielders during the spring. 

This spring, and prior to Friday night's game against the Cubs, Ahmed has hit .328 with six doubles and five RBI. Owings has hit .244 with seven RBI. Hill has hit just .189 with three RBI. 

If Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy begins the season on the disabled list due to a hamstring injury, the team is more likely to choose Danny Muno over prospect Matt Reynolds to replace him on the roster, a team source told ESPN.

If Murphy is out, the Mets prefer to have Muno and Ruben Tejada play at second base, with Reynolds being sent to Triple-A to start at shortstop.

One of the reasons the Mets are considering sending Reynolds to the minors is because the team doesn't want to avoid a dilemma in case Reynolds thrives in Murphy's absence and manager Terry Collins wants to keep him around as a bench option. They do not want to start his MLB service time for a backup role.