MLB Player News

The Nationals acquired Mead from the White Sox on Saturday in exchange for catcher Boston Smith.

After being designated for assignment by the White Sox on Wednesday, Mead will regain a spot on the 40-man roster in a new organization. The 25-year-old infielder has slashed just .238/.300/.317 across 445 plate appearances in his MLB career, but he posted a .908 OPS at the Triple-A level last season and isn't far removed from a being a top prospect in the Rays system. Mead has no minor-league options remaining, so Washington will need to open up room for him on its 26-man active roster.

Lawlar isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

Lawlar has started the new season 1-for-7 with three strikeouts across Arizona's first two contests, and he'll now rest his legs during Saturday's series finale. His absence will allow Jorge Barrosa to start in left field and bat ninth.

Moreno isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

Moreno will take a seat during Saturday's series finale after going 2-for-8 with a run scored over the first two games. James McCann will instead make his first start of the season at catcher and bat eighth.

Priester (wrist) threw a pain-free bullpen session Saturday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Priester is expected to miss the first month of the season due to symptoms related to thoracic outlet syndrome, but the fact that he's able to throw off a mound without any discomfort is a positive sign. He's scheduled for one more bullpen session within the next few days before reporting to the Brewers' complex in Arizona to begin facing hitters.

Manager Walt Weiss said Saturday that Murphy (hip) has resumed all baseball activities, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Weiss added that Murphy could be cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment soon if he continues to progress smoothly. The 31-year-old has spent the offseason recovering from surgery he underwent in September to repair a labral tear in his right hip and will likely need to spend multiple weeks in the minors once he's cleared to resume playing in games.

Andujar isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Tigers.

After going 1-for-7 with an RBI and a walk through the first two games of the year, Andujar will get a breather during the series finale. Nick Castellanos will fill in as the Padres' designated hitter and bat eighth.

Neely cleared waivers Saturday and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Neely lost his place on the 40-man roster Wednesday after making four appearances in the Cactus League, striking out seven batters across four scoreless innings. He posted a 6.23 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 30.1 frames at Iowa last year, however, and he'll likely need to show consistent improvement before the Cubs consider bringing him back to the big leagues.

Stubbs cleared waivers Saturday and was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Stubbs was DFA'd after losing the race for the backup catcher job in Philadelphia to Rafael Marchan but will remain in the organization. The 32-year-old Stubbs slashed .265/.352/.402 across 307 plate appearances in Triple-A last season and would likely return to the majors if J.T. Realmuto or Marchan were to miss any amount of time.

Walker allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one across one-third of an inning in Friday's 3-0 loss to the Yankees.

Walker entered in the eighth inning and struck out Aaron Judge, walked Cody Bellinger and gave up a single to Giancarlo Stanton before being pulled for left-hander Ryan Borucki. According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, Walker is a candidate to pitch high-leverage innings this season along with Matt Gage, Erik Miller and Jose Butto, all of whom made appearances Friday. Over 68 regular-season outings in 2025, Walker posted a 4.11 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 60:18 K:BB across 61.1 innings. He began last season as the Giants' closer before losing the role to Camilo Doval. However, Walker later regained closing duties after Doval was traded and Randy Rodriguez suffered an elbow injury in late August that ultimately led to Tommy John surgery in September.

The Brewers placed Vaughn on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a hamate fracture in his left hand.

Vaughn made an early exit from Thursday's game against the White Sox after hitting a single in the sixth inning, and imaging revealed a fracture afterwards. He's slated to undergo surgery Monday and will miss roughly 4-to-6 weeks. Jake Bauers and Gary Sanchez will be in the mix for starts at first base while Vaughn is out, and Jeferson Quero will come up from Triple-A Nashville to offer depth at catcher while freeing up Sanchez to occasionally start at first.