MLB Player News

Pederson went 0-for-3 in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Dodgers.

Season-opening slumps tend to get more attention than ones in the middle of a season, but there's no sugar-coating Pederson's futility. Following Friday's game, he's 0-for-his-last-36 and is batting .057. If he qualified he would be last in the majors. To Pederson's credit, the slump hasn't resulted in him chasing -- his 24.8 chase percentage is below league average and less than his career norm (27.6). He is, however, topping a lot of balls and is experiencing a spike in groundball rate (56.4). Texas manager Bruce Bochy is standing behind the slugger and continues to put him third or fourth in the lineup.

The Royals optioned Melendez to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Melendez has logged just one base hit across his last seven games and only three since the beginning of April. He'll now head to the minors in order to sort things out at the plate, making room on the active roster for Mark Canha (hip) to return from the IL.

Renfroe isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Detroit.

Renfroe is slashing just .130/.231/.152 on the season and has seen his playing time diminish recently as a result. He'll step aside again Saturday so Maikel Garcia can start in right field while Michael Massey covers second base, putting Salvador Perez at DH and Freddy Fermin behind the plate.

Melendez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Detroit.

Melendez has now been absent from the starting nine in each of Kansas City's last three games, which indicates a change in the depth chart following a 4-for-47 start from the 26-year-old. Drew Waters will start in left field and bat seventh.

Harris started in left field and went 2-for-3 with a double and was caught stealing in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Dodgers.

Harris made a third consecutive start in left field, as Josh Smith (thumb), who was the primary fill-in for the injured Wyatt Langford (oblique) against right-handers, remained unavailable. Harris has hit safely in all three starts, going 5-for-11 with two doubles and two runs scored. Depending on Smith's status, Harris could find himself in the lineup for a fourth straight game Saturday with the Dodgers scheduled to throw righty Roki Sasaki.

Martinez started at second base and went 0-for-3 in Friday's 10-7 win over Pittsburgh.

With the regular outfield fully healthy, manager Stephen Vogt kept Martinez's bat in the lineup by moving him to the infield. Martinez initially filled in at center field for Lane Thomas and went 8-for-14 over his first four games following a call-up from Triple-A Columbus. Martinez has since gone 0-for-7 with starts in right field and second base. He can move between the infield and outfield and could remain in the majors if the bat continues to play.

Arias started at shortstop and went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 10-7 win over the Pirates.

Arias, who's been the primary second baseman to open the season, hasn't played there for the last three games -- he started at shortstop (twice) and third base (once). Given Arias' recent hot stretch (10-for-26, three home runs, eight RBI over seven games), Guardians manager Stephen Vogt will likely make it a priority to keep Arias' bat in the lineup somewhere.

Thomas batted second in the order and went 2-for-5 with two runs scored in Friday's 10-7 win over Pittsburgh.

Thomas was moved up from his normal spot in the order (fifth) and ended an 0-for-11 run with a single in the third inning. Moving Thomas to second set off a domino effect of Jose Ramirez dropping from second to third and Carlos Santana from third to fifth. It's unclear if the new arrangement was a one-game thing or if it has more permanency, but given the team scored a season-high 10 runs, manager Stephen Vogt may continue to use Thomas as the No. 2 hitter.

Neto went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Friday's 2-0 win over the Giants.

Activated off the injured list earlier in the day, Neto wasted no time in making an impact, driving home Nolan Schanuel with a two-bagger in the second inning and then racing home on a Matt Chapman fielding error. Neto hit seventh in his 2025 debut, but he's likely to move into a more prominent spot in the order once he's fully up to speed -- although Friday's performance suggests he's already there. After a breakout 2024 in which the 24-year-old shortstop slugged 23 homers and stole 30 bags in 155 games, big things are expected from Neto now that he's recovered from offseason shoulder surgery.

Jansen worked a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his fifth save of the season in a 2-0 win over the Giants. He didn't walk or strike out a batter.

Three flyball outs got the job done for Jansen, who has begun the season going 5-for-5 in converting save chances and has yet to give up a run in seven innings. While he could be a candidate to get flipped at the trade deadline if the Angels fall out of contention, that hasn't been a concern in the early going -- the Halos sit second in the AL West with a 10-9 record.