The Royals transferred McArthur (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.
McArthur missed the entire 2025 season while completing his recovery from surgery to address an elbow fracture, and though he was considered healthy heading into spring training, he experienced a minor setback before the end of camp. The right-hander resumed throwing bullpen sessions just over a week ago, but he now won't be eligible to join the big-league staff until at least late May. The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for catcher Elias Diaz, who was promoted from Triple-A Omaha.
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Royals' Elias Diaz: Moves up to majors
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The Royals selected Diaz's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.
The 34-year-old posted a mediocre .536 OPS over 35 plate appearances at Omaha, but he'll join the big club nonetheless to provide Kansas City with a third option behind the plate. With Carter Jensen receiving an afternoon off and Salvador Perez serving as the designated hitter in Sunday's game against the Yankees, Diaz will enter the starting nine right away at catcher and as the No. 9 hitter.
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Royals' Carter Jensen: Receiving rest Sunday
Rotowire
Jensen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
After starting eight straight games at either catcher or designated hitter and going 7-for-27 (.259) with two home runs, six RBI and three runs, Jensen will get a breather. Salvador Perez will return to the lineup Sunday as Kansas City's DH, while newly promoted Elias Diaz makes his first start for the Royals behind the plate.
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Royals' Elias Diaz: Promotion anticipated
Rotowire
Diaz is expected to have his contract selected by the Royals on Sunday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.
Diaz signed with Kansas City in late February and has spent the start of the regular season with Triple-A Omaha. He is hitting only .226 with one double across 34 plate appearances, but he'll still make his way back to the majors. Diaz's immediate role is unclear, and his promotion is not yet official.
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Royals' Elias Diaz: Catches on with Royals as NRI
Rotowire
The Royals signed Diaz to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.
Diaz is expected to report to Royals camp next week. The 35-year-old appeared in 106 regular-season contests for the Padres last season, slashing .204/.270/.337 with nine long balls. Unless the Royals carry three catchers on their Opening Day roster, Diaz is likely ticketed for Triple-A Omaha.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Held off wild-card roster
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Diaz (oblique) is not on the Padres' wild-card roster.
Diaz suffered a minor oblique strain during Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks and wasn't able to progress enough to be included on the team's wild-card roster. The Padres will carry three catchers, with Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano behind starter Freddy Fermin.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Nursing oblique strain
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Diaz's status for Tuesday's wild-card series opener versus the Cubs is in question due to a strained oblique, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
Diaz tweaked his oblique during Saturday's 12-4 win over the Diamondbacks. The Padres don't believe the injury is serious, but Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano will travel with the team to Chicago as insurance in case Diaz isn't included on the roster for the wild-card round. Diaz is the clear No. 2 catcher for the Padres behind Freddy Fermin, but he has served as the personal catcher this season for Nick Pivetta, who is slated to start Game 1 of the series.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Lifts homer in loss
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Diaz went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Diaz put the Padres ahead 2-1 in the third inning with his homer, but that was the extent of their scoring. He's seen limited playing time in August, as Freddy Fermin has taken over as San Diego's top catcher. Diaz has gone 3-for-19 (.158) over seven games this month, so he's not doing much to make a stronger case for playing time. Overall, the 34-year-old backstop has a .198/.269/.308 slash line with six homers, 24 RBI, 29 runs scored and seven doubles across 253 plate appearances this season.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Set to lose work to Fermin
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Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
After he appeared to briefly overtake Martin Maldonado as the Padres' preferred catching option toward the end of July, Diaz may be back in the No. 2 role for the rest of the season with San Diego bringing in Freddy Fermin from Kansas City ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. Fermin was on the bench for Friday's 4-1 win but will end up starting the final two games of the series with St. Louis while Diaz sits out.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Sitting after three straight starts
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Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.
Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Diaz may have at least temporarily overtaken Martin Maldonado as the Padres' top catcher. Diaz started in each of the Friars' last three games, going 3-for-12 with a double, five RBI and two runs.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Adds homer in win
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Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs scored in Sunday's 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Diaz had gone 0-for-8 with three walks and five strikeouts over his previous four games. The catcher was able to do some damage Sunday, stretching the Padres' lead to 7-2 with a ninth-inning homer, his first long ball since May 4 versus the Pirates. Diaz is now at a .219/.292/.336 slash line with four homers, five doubles, 10 RBI, 20 runs scored and no stolen bases over 162 plate appearances. He has been in a fairly even timeshare with Martin Maldonado since the start of June, as neither backstop is doing much consistently with the bat, though Maldonado has the slight edge in playing time over the last week.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Losing work to Maldonado
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Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
Diaz will take a seat for the second time in the series and the fourth time in the past six contests. Martin Maldonado appears to have at least temporarily moved ahead of him on the depth chart, though Diaz could reclaim primary catching duties if his bat heats up.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Idle Tuesday
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Diaz isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Giants.
Tuesday marks the third time in San Diego's last four games that Martin Maldonado has started over Diaz, though the Padres typically still find a way to get Diaz a plate appearance or two every day.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Sitting again Sunday
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Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.
Diaz will take a seat for the second day in a row while Martin Maldonado receives another start behind the dish. Since he's still started six of the Padres' last 10 games overall, Diaz appears to be the team's preferred catching option, though that hasn't meant much for fantasy purposes. Diaz closed May with just six hits in 45 at-bats (.133 average) over his final 16 games of the month.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Sitting Monday
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Diaz is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Marlins on Monday.
For a second straight game, Martin Maldonado will start behind home plate while Diaz begins the contest in the dugout. Diaz has slashed .250/.278/.365 with six runs scored and a solo home run over 54 plate appearances since the beginning of May.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Taking seat for series finale
Rotowire
Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game in Atlanta.
Diaz is getting a routine breather after he had started behind the dish in each of the Padres' last three contests. Martin Maldonado will handle catching duties in the series finale.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: On bench again Wednesday
Rotowire
Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
Diaz will take a seat for the second night in a row due to Martin Maldonado receiving another start behind the dish. Maldonado has gone 3-for-29 at the plate over his last 12 contests, so he doesn't yet seem to have mounted a serious case for supplanting Diaz as the Padres' preferred backstop.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Out of Wednesday's lineup
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Diaz is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Angels on Wednesday.
Diaz will ride the pine for a second straight game while Martin Maldonado starts behind home plate and bats ninth. Diaz has gone 8-for-25 with a solo home run and six runs scored since the beginning of May.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Taking seat Tuesday
Rotowire
Diaz isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Angels.
Diaz will give way to Martin Maldonado behind the dish after the former went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the series opener Monday.
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Padres' Elias Diaz: Getting second straight start
Rotowire
Diaz will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Giants.
Diaz and Martin Maldonado have now made 15 starts apiece behind the plate through the Padres' first 30 games of the season, but the former offers more offensive upside at this stage of his career and could eventually recapture the lion's share of the playing time at catcher. The Padres will hand Diaz his second straight start after he brought his season average up to .192 with a 2-for-4 performance in Tuesday's 7-4 win.
