MLB Player News

Yastrzemski is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Cincinnati, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

He unsurprisingly didn't start Saturday with lefty Nick Lodolo on the mound, but the veteran outfielder is sitting again Sunday against Reds righty Nick Martinez. Yastrzemski started in right field Opening Day and went 2-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Bailey is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle

Bailey will get a breather after he was behind the plate for the first two games of the series in Cincinnati, going 1-for-7 with an RBI and a run. Sam Huff will draw his first start of the season at catcher while Bailey rests up.

Espinal started at third base and went 2-for-3 in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Giants.

Espinal, who entered the starting lineup for the first time, filled in at third base while Jeimer Candelario handled DH duties for Spencer Steer, who was given a rest day. The hot corner could be a revolving door over the first month of the season. In addition to Espinal and Candelario, Gavin Lux and Steer could see time there. At this point, Lux is covering left field for the injured Austin Hays (calf) and Steer is dealing with a shoulder that's limited him to DH and could prompt more rest days than normal.

Candelario served as the designated hitter and went 1-for-3 with a walk in Saturday's 3-2 win over San Francisco.

Candelario, who started Opening Day at third base, moved to DH on Saturday when Spencer Steer was given a rest day. Steer is dealing with a wonky shoulder that's limiting him to DH for now. Candelario will see time at third base, first base and DH, while the Reds cope with Steer's situation and Austin Hays' calf injury. Gavin Lux, who is also expected to get starts at the hot corner, has been filling in for Hays in left field. Candelario is keeping himself in the lineup by collecting three hits, two walks and three RBI through eight plate appearances to begin the year.

Ashcraft allowed two hits over a scoreless eighth inning in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Giants.

Ashcraft worked around traffic with the help of a double-play grounder to earn his first hold. Cincinnati's late-game deployments are under scrutiny after the club placed closer Alexis Diaz (hamstring) on the injured list, and Ian Gibaut blew a save Opening Day. Going back to Ashcraft's days as a starter, Reds coaches have mused about the right-hander's makeup being suited for the bullpen, including as a closer. On Saturday, he worked in a set-up role for Emilio Pagan. This is a not a situation where once Diaz is healthy, he'll automatically get the closer's role back. He had trouble throwing strikes in limited Cactus League usage, which did not please manager Terry Francona.

Morejon earned the save in Saturday's 1-0 win over Atlanta, issuing one walk while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

The 26-year-old southpaw came in to finish out Saturday's game, as usual closer Robert Suarez had been deployed in each of the first two games of the series. Morejon was able to pitch around a leadoff walk and finished things off by punching out Drake Baldwin. Morejon logged two saves last season, but he could see more opportunities in 2025 on days when Suarez is resting.

Rodriguez will start Monday's game against the Royals as an opening pitcher, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander didn't pitch in Milwaukee's first two games of the season versus the Yankees, but he'll take the mound as an opener Monday with Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) and Tobias Myers (oblique) on the injured list and Jose Quintana still ramping up. Rodriguez had a 15:2 K:BB across 10.2 innings during spring training but surrendered nine earned runs and three homers. He built up to 3.2 innings in Cactus League play, so he could be capable of offering more length than the typical opener.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Cubs.

Naylor hit safely for a third straight game to begin the regular season, but his most memorable play Saturday was getting thrown out at third base for the final out of the fourth inning. He'd doubled to lead off the bottom of the frame and got thrown out by Pete Crow-Armstrong, as he tried to tag up and advance to third later in the inning. Naylor also singled in the ninth and scored on Eugenio Suarez's home run.

Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Cubs.

Martinez made his season debut, entering the top of the ninth inning with Arizona down 4-1. None of the four balls in play he allowed left the infield, and only a fielding error by Martinez extended what could have been a 1-2-3 frame. The right-hander inked a five-year extension late in spring training and is expected to pitch in high-leverage situations, potentially splitting closing duties with A.J. Puk.

Hampson entered as a pinch runner and was responsible for the final out of the game in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Cubs.

The veteran utility player prevailed over Ildemaro Vargas for Arizona's final roster spot partially due to his speed. Unfortunately for Hampson, who was making his debut with his new team, an over-aggressive play on the basepaths led to the game-ending out -- he took a wide turn at third base on Corbin Carroll's slow chopper to short, and got caught when Dansby Swanson faked a throw to first. Hampson isn't likely to offer much fantasy value in his bench role anyway, but moments like this won't earn him more playing time.