MLB Player News

Pena (finger) is not in the lineup for Thursday's opener against the Angels.

Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Pena has progressed enough in his recovery from a fractured right ring finger to avoid the 10-day injured list, but he's not quite ready to play in major-league games. Pena is at the Astros' nearby Triple-A Sugar Land affiliate Thursday morning getting in some live at-bats, and it's unclear whether he will be available off the bench Thursday or if Houston will play a man short. Consider him day-to-day for the time being. With Pena out, Carlos Correa will slide over to shortstop and Isaac Paredes will start at third base.

Nance has claimed a spot in the Blue Jays' Opening Day bullpen, Gregor Chisholm and Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star report.

The 35-year-old grabbed one of the last spots in the bullpen despite a 6.75 ERA, 2.06 WHIP and 6:3 K:BB in 5.1 spring innings, but his lack of minor-league options likely tipped the scales in his favor. Nance was more impressive in 2025, delivering a 1.99 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB over 31.2 innings for Toronto with two wins and five holds in 30 appearances.

Jackson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Though Jackson beat out a number of competitors for the final position-player spot on the Orioles' Opening Day roster, he looks like he'll have to settle for a part-time role to begin the season, even while Jackson Holliday (hand) and Jordan Westburg (elbow) are on the injured list. Coby Mayo is expected to be Westburg's primary replacement at third base, while the Orioles could opt for a more of a timeshare between Jackson and Blaze Alexander at the keystone in Holliday's absence. The Orioles will turn to Alexander at second base for the opener.

O'Neill will start in right field and bat sixth in Thursday's opener versus the Twins.

It's righty Joe Ryan on the bump for the Twins, but the right-handed-hitting O'Neill will nonetheless get the call in right field as he attempts to extend his major-league record Opening Day home run streak to seven. Dylan Beavers has been battling a knee/quad injury recently, which also could have played into Orioles manager Craig Albernaz's decision to start O'Neill. The two players are expected to share the right-field job this season.

Ward will start in left field and bat leadoff in Thursday's opener against the Twins.

Jackson Holliday (hand) is likely to bat leadoff when he returns to action, but it will be Ward at the top of the batting order on Opening Day as the Twins send righty Joe Ryan to the hill. Ward sported a .425 on-base percentage for the Orioles during spring training, logging more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven).

Beavers is not in the lineup for Thursday's opener against the Twins.

Beavers managed to avoid the injured list after being sidelined for the past week with tightness in his right knee and quadriceps. However, the left-handed batter is not in the lineup Opening Day versus righty Joe Ryan, as Orioles manager Craig Albernaz is going with righty bat Tyler O'Neill. It's not a surprise, as Beavers could be a bit rusty and O'Neill also has a major-league record six-game Opening Day home run streak on the line. Beavers and O'Neill are expected to share right field for Baltimore this season rather than operate in a strict platoon.

The White Sox placed Bush (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Feb. 10.

Chicago made the transaction prior to the start of spring training, when the team needed to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. On the mend from February 2025 Tommy John surgery, Bush was able to throw multiple bullpen sessions during spring training, and he could be cleared to start facing hitters within the next few weeks, per James Fegan of SoxMachine.com. Bush will be shelved for at least the first two months of the season while he works his way through the rehab process.

Holliday (hand) is set to begin a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A Norfolk.

Holliday didn't see any game action in spring training after undergoing surgery Feb. 12 to remove the fractured hook of the hamate bone in his right hand, but he resumed taking batting practice before the end of camp and was spotted taking part in fielding drills at Camden Yards on Wednesday, per Jake Rill of MLB.com. The 22-year-old evidently checked out fine following Wednesday's workout and is expected to be in the lineup when Norfolk opens its season Friday. Holliday will be eligible to return from the 10-day injured list next Wednesday, but because he missed all of spring training, the Orioles may want to keep him on assignment with Norfolk for a longer period prior to activating him. Until Holliday is deemed ready to rejoin the big club, the Orioles will likely turn to Blaze Alexander and Jeremiah Jackson to handle most of the reps at the keystone.

Castillo is slated to make his first start during the Mariners' fifth game of the season Monday versus the Yankees at T-Mobile Park, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

Emerson Hancock is the Mariners' de facto fifth starter while stepping into the rotation in place of the injured Bryce Miller (oblique), but he'll end up taking the hill for Seattle's fourth game Sunday versus Cleveland while Castillo moves to the back of the schedule. The rotation setup is likely just a means to get Castillo some extra rest after he started the Mariners' spring training finale Monday in San Diego. Castillo covered five innings and tossed 76 pitches in that outing, so he should be ready to handle a relatively normal workload in his 2026 debut.

Chisholm went 1-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Giants.

Chisholm's steal came after he got aboard on a fielder's choice in the fifth inning. The 28-year-old opens the season as the Yankees' starting second baseman, and he should be a good source of speed. He's logged 71 steals over the last two years combined and has topped 20 thefts in four of the past five seasons. Chisholm also had the second-highest OPS of his career (.813) in 2025 while supplying career-best marks in home runs (31), RBI (80) and runs scored (75) over 130 regular-season contests.