MLB Player News

Perez is expected to be available in relief for Tuesday's game against the Athletics with Jose Suarez being named Atlanta's starter, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

After Atlanta selected Perez's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday, the veteran lefty appeared to be the most likely candidate to fill the vacant fifth spot in the rotation. Instead, manager Walt Weiss will turn to Suarez, who wasn't needed out of the bullpen in the first four games of the season. Perez will take Suarez's spot in the bullpen after joining the active roster as a replacement for Didier Fuentes, who was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

The Mariners signed Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million contract extension Tuesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The deal includes a club option for a ninth year and can top $130 million if all incentives are reached. It's a record contract for a player yet to reach the majors. Emerson came close to winning a roster spot with the Mariners in spring training and now, with a new long-term contract, is a good bet to be promoted to the big club sooner rather than later, though he will remain at Triple-A Tacoma for now, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. J.P. Crawford (shoulder) is on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder injury that's nagged at him since the start of spring training and faces an uncertain timetable. Leo Rivas has been filling in at shortstop for Seattle, but the club could eventually look to Emerson to fill that void. Emerson, 20, slashed .285/.383/.458 with 16 homers and 14 steals over three levels in the minors in 2025 and is 5-for-14 with a home run in his first three games at Tacoma in 2026.

Jung went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in Monday's 5-2 win over the Orioles.

Jung is having a rough start to the regular season. After going 0-for-12 in the season-opening series in Philadelphia, the third basemen extended the futility in Baltimore to 17 at-bats without a hit. His hard-hit rate (30 percent) and average exit velocity (79.9 mph) are worrisome. It could be that he needs time after getting only 18 plate appearances in spring training due to an adductor issue.

Littell is a candidate to pitch in bulk relief behind opening pitcher PJ Poulin in Tuesday's game in Philadelphia, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

According to Nusbaum, manager Blake Butera merely grinned and said, "Poulin's starting," when asked if Littell would be involved in the Nationals' pitching plan for Tuesday, but all signs point to the right-hander making his Washington debut. After signing with Washington late in spring training, Littell built up to 2.2 innings and 64 pitches in his final Grapefruit League outing, so he likely would have been under a bit of a workload restriction if the Nationals had elected to use him as a traditional starter Tuesday. He should eventually move into the rotation once he's fully stretched out.

Schneemann started in center field and went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Monday's 4-2 win over the Dodgers.

Schneemann's two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning increased Cleveland's lead to 4-0, and it proved to be key, as Los Angeles plated a pair of runs in the ninth. He's found himself in the starting lineup four times through the first five games -- twice in center field and once each at second and third base. Schneemann's versatility is his main fantasy value -- he batted just .206 over 379 at-bats in 2025 -- but he provided 12 home runs and nine steals.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Monday's 4-2 win over the Dodgers.

Hedges doubled to lead off the third inning and scored the Guardians' first run, then singled to open the seventh and score the team's second run. This was Hedges' season debut following a hand injury that cropped up toward the end of spring training. He'll operate as the primary backup at catcher to Bo Naylor.

Marte has started in right field in two of the Reds' first four games, both against left-handers.

Cincinnati manager Terry Francona made comments earlier this month to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com about Marte still being relatively new to the outfield, which may partially be the reason he's on the short side of platoon with Will Benson. Marte, ironically, was much better against right-handers (.821 OPS) than lefties (.562) in 2025.

Benson started in right field and went 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI in Monday's 2-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Benson delivered the Reds' second run in the fourth inning, his first extra-base hit and RBI of the season. He's started two games in right field thus far, both against right-handers. Noelvi Marte has started against lefties.

Pagan was one of three relief pitchers unavailable in Monday's 2-0 win over the Pirates, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

With the game on the line, Cincinnati manager Terry Francona turned to Connor Phillips, who walked the first two batters before converting the save. Pagan should be available if a closer is needed Tuesday.

Vargas went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Monday's 9-6 win over Detroit.

Vargas started at designated hitter Monday after the Diamondbacks placed Pavin Smith (elbow) on the 10-day injured list. The switch-hitting Vargas got the assignment against a right-hander, although manager Torey Lovullo typically likes to rotate bodies through the DH spot. Vargas is more experienced at second and third base, but he has played 14 games at first base during his career and could be part of the rotation there along with Carlos Santana and Tim Tawa.