MLB Player News

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.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rays, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The 35-year-old appeared locked in to begin the season as Colorado's primary catcher, but it will be Hunter Goodman that receives the start behind the plate Opening Day. Stallings surprised with an .810 OPS in 82 games last season, but Goodman has more fantasy upside after clubbing 13 homers in 70 contests in 2024. The pair is likely to split playing time behind the plate.

Goodman is starting at catcher and batting sixth in Friday's opener against the Rays.

Goodman had a fantastic Cactus League, finishing with a 1.322 OPS, three home runs and a 4:4 K:BB, and the Rockies are rewarding him with a start behind the plate over Jacob Stallings. The two catchers will likely split reps at catcher fairly evenly, but Goodman could see some action elsewhere on the diamond as well, and his fantasy ceiling is much higher.

Jansen (rib) is starting at catcher and batting sixth in Friday's opener against the Rockies.

Jansen missed the last several days of spring training with a pulled muscle in his ribcage, but he came out of a simulated game Wednesday with no issues and is ready to roll. The former Blue Jay is expected to receive the bulk of the reps at catcher for the Rays this season.

Baldwin went 0-for-3 with a walk in Thursday's loss to the Padres.

Making his big-league debut, Baldwin guided Chris Sale to seven strikeouts in five innings but didn't make an impact at the plate. The 24-year-old catcher is expected to start for Atlanta as long as Sean Murphy (ribs) is sidelined, giving Baldwin at least a few weeks to prove he deserves to stick around on the 26-man roster.

The Mets selected Senger's contract from Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.

Senger made the Opening Day roster as a backup catcher and made his MLB debut in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Astros, striking out in his lone plate appearance. The 28-year-old is likely to see limited playing time at catcher behind Luis Torrens and should head to the minors once Francisco Alvarez (hand) is ready to return from the injured list.

Amaya went 2-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI during Thursday's 10-6 win against the Diamondbacks.

The 26-year-old started behind the plate and batted ninth in the Cubs' domestic opener, and he powered the offense with a three-run double in the fifth inning and a two-run double in the ninth. Amaya has been a bright spot in his first two games of the season, going 3-for-8 with three doubles and six RBI, which could help him move up from the bottom of the lineup.

Ruiz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 7-3 extra-inning loss to the Phillies.

Ruiz got the Nationals into the scoring column with a fifth-inning solo blast off Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. The switch-hitting backstop excelled this spring while batting .289 with three homers, 11 RBI, and two stolen bases over 45 Grapefruit League at-bats, and Ruiz should see plenty of action in 2025 as Washington's primary catcher.

Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with one walk and three strikeouts during Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Marlins.

Rodriguez got the start at first base Opening Day due to Spencer Horwitz (wrist) starting the season on the 10-day injured list. Rodriguez opened things up with a six-pitch walk in the third inning, but he proceeded to strike out in each of his next three plate appearances, the first two of which came on three pitches. The 24-year-old is serving as the backup catcher to Joey Bart but should also split time at first base with Jared Triolo until Horwitz is healthy.

Rutschman went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 12-2 win over Toronto.

After homering in the first inning off Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios, Rutschman went deep once again during the eighth frame to add to the Opening Day rout. Rutschman's hot bat in spring training appears to have carried into the regular season to begin the year, as the star backstop went 15-for-42 (.357) with three long balls and eight RBI in the Grapefruit League.