MLB Player News

Siri is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Astros.

It could wind up being something of a timeshare between Siri and Tyrone Taylor in center field for the Mets this season, but it's been Taylor in center for each of the first two games. Siri was acquired from the Rays via trade back in November.

Valdez has a locker at LoanDepot Park ahead of the Pirates' game against the Marlins on Friday, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Valdez has not been officially recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis at this point, but his presence could mean the Pirates expect Nick Gonzales (ankle) to miss time. The team should have official word on Valdez and Gonzales soon.

Hicks is starting at catcher and batting seventh in Friday's contest versus the Pirates.

After Nick Fortes got the call behind the plate in Thursday's opener, Hicks will do the catching Friday in what will be his major-league debut. The 25-year-old was the second pick in the Rule 5 draft over the offseason.

Fortes is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Pirates.

Fortes started Thursday's opener and in his last plate appearance was awarded a triple on a ball Oneil Cruz misplayed in center field. He'll begin the second game of the series on the bench as Liam Hicks makes his major-league debut.

Hence will begin the season on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis with a right rib cage strain, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

It's not clear how much time Hence might miss, but the good news is that the injury isn't related to his pitching arm. The 22-year-old has some of the best stuff in all of the minors but has struggled to stay healthy, having never reached 100 innings in a season. Hence posted a 2.71 ERA and 109:26 K:BB over 79.2 frames at Double-A Springfield in 2024.

Strider (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Strider, who is coming back from an internal brace procedure, made two Grapefruit League starts, throwing a total of four innings and getting his pitch count up to 45 in the second outing. It's uncertain how many rehab starts he will be asked to make before joining the Atlanta rotation, but it's likely to be at least a couple. The ace right-hander appears to be on track for a mid-April return.

The Padres selected Maldonado's contract from Triple-A El Paso prior to Thursday's 7-4 win over Atlanta. Maldonado was used off the bench and struck out in his lone plate appearance.

Maldonado secured his spot on the Opening Day roster as a backup catcher over Luis Campusano, who was optioned to Triple-A over the weekend. Elias Diaz received the nod behind the dish in Thursday's opener and is expected to dominate the playing time at catcher this season, with Maldonado likely being limited to one or two starts per week.

The Padres selected Iglesias' contract from Triple-A El Paso ahead of Thursday's 7-4 win over Atlanta.

Iglesias went unused off the bench in the win, but he secured his spot on the Opening Day roster after beating out Tyler Wade for a utility infield job. The 34-year-old Iglesias may see occasional starts against left-handed pitching but may otherwise find consistent at-bats difficult to come by while second baseman Jake Cronenworth, third baseman Manny Machado and shortstop Xander Bogaerts are all healthy.

The Padres selected Gurriel's contract from Triple-A El Paso prior to Thursday's 7-4 win over Atlanta. He started at designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Gurriel attended spring training as a non-roster invitee but was able to secure his spot in the Opening Day lineup after posting an .814 OPS in Cactus League play. The right-handed-hitting Gurriel drew a start with southpaw Chris Sale on the mound, but Gurriel could cede reps at DH to the lefty-hitting Gavin Sheets when the Padres face right-handed pitching.

Koss is an option to slide into the outfield and could operate in a utility role this season, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Koss earned a spot on the 40-man roster after a successful Cactus League campaign. The 27-year-old shortstop finished with a .341/.426/.512 slash line in 41 plate appearances as a non-roster invitee. "He's another guy I watched this spring who carried himself with such confidence," president of baseball operations Buster Posey said Thursday. "At shortstop, third -- wherever he was playing. To me, he's the epitome of a baseball player." Koss didn't suit up for the Giants on Opening Day, though the first game he gets into will mark his MLB debut after several years in the minors.