MLB Player News

Hence will begin the season on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis with a right rib cage strain, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

It's not clear how much time Hence might miss, but the good news is that the injury isn't related to his pitching arm. The 22-year-old has some of the best stuff in all of the minors but has struggled to stay healthy, having never reached 100 innings in a season. Hence posted a 2.71 ERA and 109:26 K:BB over 79.2 frames at Double-A Springfield in 2024.

Strider (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Strider, who is coming back from an internal brace procedure, made two Grapefruit League starts, throwing a total of four innings and getting his pitch count up to 45 in the second outing. It's uncertain how many rehab starts he will be asked to make before joining the Atlanta rotation, but it's likely to be at least a couple. The ace right-hander appears to be on track for a mid-April return.

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.

The Padres selected Iglesias' contract from Triple-A El Paso ahead of Thursday's 7-4 win over Atlanta.

Iglesias went unused off the bench in the win, but he secured his spot on the Opening Day roster after beating out Tyler Wade for a utility infield job. The 34-year-old Iglesias may see occasional starts against left-handed pitching but may otherwise find consistent at-bats difficult to come by while second baseman Jake Cronenworth, third baseman Manny Machado and shortstop Xander Bogaerts are all healthy.

The Padres selected Gurriel's contract from Triple-A El Paso prior to Thursday's 7-4 win over Atlanta. He started at designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Gurriel attended spring training as a non-roster invitee but was able to secure his spot in the Opening Day lineup after posting an .814 OPS in Cactus League play. The right-handed-hitting Gurriel drew a start with southpaw Chris Sale on the mound, but Gurriel could cede reps at DH to the lefty-hitting Gavin Sheets when the Padres face right-handed pitching.

Koss is an option to slide into the outfield and could operate in a utility role this season, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Koss earned a spot on the 40-man roster after a successful Cactus League campaign. The 27-year-old shortstop finished with a .341/.426/.512 slash line in 41 plate appearances as a non-roster invitee. "He's another guy I watched this spring who carried himself with such confidence," president of baseball operations Buster Posey said Thursday. "At shortstop, third -- wherever he was playing. To me, he's the epitome of a baseball player." Koss didn't suit up for the Giants on Opening Day, though the first game he gets into will mark his MLB debut after several years in the minors.

The Padres placed Hoeing on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to a right shoulder strain.

Hoeing was delayed at the start of spring training due to the shoulder injury and was unable to make any Cactus League appearances. The 28-year-old is unlikely to be ready to make his season debut until late April at the soonest.

The Padres placed Waldron (oblique) on the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Waldron has yet to resume a throwing program since suffering a left oblique strain while warming up in the bullpen March 14. He'll require more than the minimum 15 days to heal from the injury, and with Yu Darvish (elbow) joining him on the shelf to begin the season, the Padres will have room in the rotation for both Kyle Hart and Randy Vasquez, who had been competing with Waldron for the No. 5 starter role.

Fernandez was unavailable for Thursday's opener due to hip tightness, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

With Fernandez not able to pitch, St. Louis used Chris Roycroft in the seventh inning and Phil Maton in the eighth with a one-run lead, and both Roycroft and Maton responded with scoreless frames. Consider Fernandez -- who is expected to be the Cardinals' primary right-handed setup man this season -- day-to-day.

The Padres placed Brito (forearm) on the 15-day injured list Thursday due to a right forearm strain.

Brito didn't make any appearances after Aug. 10 last season due to an elbow strain, and though he was cleared prior to spring training, he was shut down after experiencing diminished velocity and renewed soreness during a Cactus League appearance March 4. The Padres will wait and see how Brito responds to a period of rest and rehab, but given the recurring nature of his elbow/forearm issues, surgery could be in the forecast for the right-hander.