MLB Player News

Lord (1-0) allowed one run on four hits over 2.1 innings of relief Thursday, earning the win in a 10-4 victory over the Cubs. He struck out one without walking a batter.

Cade Cavalli got the start but recorded only 11 outs on 75 pitches before getting the hook, and Lord was the Nat reliever handed the win by the official scorer. Lord is likely to have a versatile role out of the bullpen, getting used for longer stints but also potentially being a part of the high-leverage mix after the right-hander posted a 4.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 108:43 K:BB over 130.2 innings as a rookie in 2025 while starting 19 of his 48 appearances.

Robert went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and two RBI in Thursday's win over the Pirates.

Batting fifth in his Mets debut, Robert was a big part of an offensive eruption that saw his new team score 11 runs and chase Paul Skenes from the game in the first inning. Robert's athletic gifts have never been in question, but the 28-year-old center fielder has rarely been able to stay healthy during his career, playing more than 110 games only once in six seasons with the White Sox and struggling to a .223/.288/.372 slash line with a 29.7 percent strikeout rate in 2024-25. If he's able to stay in the lineup for New York, he's still capable of putting together a big campaign.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Thursday's win over the Pirates.

The 24-year-old catcher went back-to-back with rookie Carson Benge in the sixth inning off Justin Lawrence. Alvarez has been slowed by injuries the last couple seasons and hasn't come close to the 25 homers he launched in his first full big-league season in 2023, but he could be ready to put things together in 2026 if he can stay in the lineup.

Lindor went 0-for-2 with three walks and three runs scored in Thursday's win over the Pirates.

The All-Star shortstop set the table for a Mets attack that erupted for 11 runs on Opening Day and chased Paul Skenes from the game in the first inning. Lindor didn't get much of a chance to show just how much he's recovered from his mid-February hamate bone surgery, but if this performance was a preview of things to come for the new-look New York offense, he could approach the career-high 129 runs he scored back in 2018 for Cleveland.

Benge went 1-for-3 with two walks, a solo home run, a second run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's win over the Pirates.

Starting in right field and batting eighth in his big-league debut, the 23-year-old top prospect got hold of a first-pitch sweeper from Justin Lawrence in the sixth inning and drove it into the bullpen in right-center field. In the process, Benge became just the second Met in history to homer on Opening Day in his first MLB game, joining Kazuo Matsui. Benge struck out in his other two plate appearances, but that won't take anything away from a dazzling debut as he makes a very early statement that he should viewed as a favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

Stowers (hamstring) was able to throw, hit and run during a workout Wednesday, and he had no issues afterward, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old outfielder is beginning the season on the IL and will be re-evaluated in 3-to-4 weeks, meaning that Stowers will probably need at least a brief rehab assignment before he's ready to make his 2026 debut in late April or early May. If he continues to make good progress in his recovery, however, he could return on the short end of that estimate. The Marlins will miss having Stowers' bat in the lineup after he had a breakout 2025, slugging 25 homers with a .912 OPS in 117 contests.

Perdomo went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Perdomo gave the Diamondbacks the lead with his fourth-inning home run off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but that was all the offense the team could muster. After the homer, Los Angeles pitching retired 18 of the final 19 Arizona batters. So far so good for Perdomo as he looks to prove that his breakout 2025 season (20 HR, 100 RBI) was no fluke.

Burleson went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Thursday's 9-7 win over the Rays.

The Cardinals lost several key hitters this offseason, as Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado have all gone elsewhere, but Burleson opened the season as St. Louis' No. 3 hitter and should maintain strong RBI upside from this spot. The 27-year-old hit a career-high .290 with 18 homers, 26 doubles and 69 RBI over 497 regular-season at-bats a year ago, and he's off to a fast start in 2026 with his Opening Day long ball.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in an 8-2 victory versus Arizona on Thursday.

Smith's first RBI came on an infield single in the fifth inning. He followed up that hit with a two-run blast in the seventh frame to cap the scoring in the contest. Smith probably isn't going to challenge for the NL home run crown, but he's been pretty consistent in the long-ball department with between 17 and 25 homers each of the past five regular seasons. He batted .296 across 436 plate appearances during the regular season last year and is one of fantasy's most productive backstops.

Pages went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run Thursday in an 8-2 win against the Diamondbacks.

Los Angeles was trailing 2-0 before Pages turned the game upside-down with his three-run blast off Zac Gallen in the fifth inning. The homer gave Pages a promising start to the season following a 2025 campaign during which he broke through with a .774 OPS, 27 home runs, 86 RBI and 14 stolen bases across 156 regular-season games. Pages is firmly entrenched as the Dodgers' primary center fielder, and he should have plenty of chances to produce amidst a loaded Los Angeles lineup.