MLB Player News

Manager Mike Shildt announced Monday that King will start the Padres' March 27 season opener versus Atlanta, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

In a surprising decision, King is getting the ball instead of Dylan Cease, but the two are essentially co-aces for the Padres. King broke out in 2024 in his first full campaign in the big leagues as a starting pitcher, collecting a 2.95 ERA and 201:63 K:BB over 173.2 innings during the regular season.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Monday that Myers will begin the season on the 15-day injured list after an MRI revealed a left oblique strain, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The good news is the MRI was actually "better than we were expecting," according to Murphy, who added that Myers could rejoin the rotation before the end of April. Tyler Alexander is likely to occupy a spot in Milwaukee's rotation for as long as Myers is shelved.

Wood went 2-for-3 with a double, a two-run home run and a second run scored in Sunday's Grapefruit league game against the Rays.

The 22-year-old outfielder wasted no time in making an impact, taking Connor Seabold deep in the first inning. Wood has been raking this spring, batting .379 (11-for-29) with four doubles and four homers with a 4:9 BB:K. After slashing .264/.354/.427 in 79 games during his big-league debut last year, Wood could be poised to take a big step forward in 2025.

Senger could open the season as the Mets' No. 2 catcher behind Luis Torrens, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

Internal options for catching depth are limited with Francisco Alvarez (hand) set to begin the campaign on the IL, but Senger's defensive skills behind the plate could make him the choice over Jakson Reetz and Chris Williams. The 27-year-old Senger doesn't offer much upside with his bat however, managing a .724 OPS with three homers over 48 games for Triple-A Syracuse in 2024, and the Mets could look outside the organization for Torrens' backup once other teams begin to trim their rosters at the end of camp.

Acuna seems likely to win a spot on the Opening Day roster and could handle the short side of a platoon at second base alongside Brett Baty, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

The Mets may have been reluctant to bring Acuna north if he was just going to be stuck on the bench, but the potential for consistent playing time might make the decision to keep him on the 26-man roster easier. That playing time is available due to an oblique injury to Jeff McNeil, and if either or both of the youngsters play well in his absence, there's no guarantee he wins back the starting gig given how his production has declined since he won the NL batting crown in 2022. The 23-year-old Acuna would help his case with a strong finish to his spring -- through 14 appearances he's batting .226 (7-for-31) with a 0:6 BB:K, although he has gone 3-for-3 on steal attempts.

Baty may begin the season platooning at second base with Luisangel Acuna, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

With Jeff McNeil (oblique) sidelined to begin the year, the decision to keep youngsters Baty and Acuna on the Opening Day roster gets easier, as regular playing time could be available for both. Baty would handle the strong side of any platoon at the keystone, and he could be taking a lot of momentum into the regular season -- through 14 Grapefruit League appearances, he's batting .343 (12-for-35) with three doubles, two homers and a 4:5 BB:K.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Monday that Lopez is "fine" and has been cleared to make his next Grapefruit League start Saturday versus the Tigers, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

After Lopez's average fastball velocity sat at around 93 miles per hour -- 2.5 ticks below his season average from 2024 -- in his last Grapefruit League outing back on March 7 against the Twins, Atlanta opted to have the right-hander make his most recent spring appearance on the back fields of camp this past week. Lopez apparently made it though that outing without incident, perhaps suggesting that the diminished velocity he displayed March 7 was simply a bout of arm fatigue. Lopez's investors will still want to keep close tabs on his start Saturday, which will likely be the final time he takes the hill this spring before making his season debut next week in Atlanta's four-game opening series in San Diego.

Senga is expected to make his first start of the season April 1 in Miami, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

That would be the Mets' fifth game of the year, after the team opens the season with a three-game set in Houston. The decision to hold Senga back is a strong sign New York will continue to monitor his workload in 2025, but the 32-year-old says he's felt good this spring and hasn't had trouble bouncing back from any of his outings. "I have a growing understanding of where my body is and what I can do and can't do at this point," Senga said after Friday's start. The Mets need him to regain his 2023 form, when he produced a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202:77 K:BB over 166.1 innings in his North America debut.

Canning is expected to start the third game of the Mets' season-opening series in Houston, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

That would line the right-hander up to face the Astros on March 29 after Clay Holmes and Tylor Megill work the first two games of the series, with David Peterson and Kodai Senga rounding out the initial rotation. Canning has yet to give up an earned run this spring with a 7:1 K:BB over 5.1 innings, and the Mets have adjusted his pitch mix to emphasize his slider and sinker over his mediocre four-seam fastball -- a pitch that generated a 14.8 percent whiff rate and 44.1 percent hard-hit rate last year along with a minus-12 run value. Canning could have a small window in which to establish himself with Sean Manaea (oblique) potentially returning in mid-April.

Lee will undergo an MRI on his injured back Monday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Lee was scratched from the Giants' Cactus League lineup Saturday against the Mariners due to the back injury, which has lingered longer than expected. The MRI should reveal the extent of the injury, and more should be known about Lee's availability for Opening Day availability once the results are in.