Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-5 with two RBI in Thursday's 10-4 loss to the Nationals.

The Cubs put Crow-Armstrong in the cleanup spot Opening Day, and he responded with a team-best two RBI. After a breakout 2025 campaign, the young outfielder inked a six-year, $115 million contract extension earlier this week. Crow-Armstrong did fade some down the stretch last year, however, which is something he will aim to avoid in 2026. He made some minor mechanical tweaks in the offseason in an effort to make his swing more compact and find a bit more consistency at the plate across the long season.

Wiemer went 3-for-3 with a home run and a second run scored in Thursday's 10-4 win over the Cubs.

After claiming one of the Nats' final roster spots out of spring training, Wiemer was responsible for Washington's first run of the season with a solo homer off Matthew Boyd in the second inning Thursday. The 27-year-old Wiemer appeared in 27 games with the Marlins in 2025, batting .236 with three homers and a .715 OPS across 61 plate appearances. While Wiemer's 2026 debut was certainly encouraging, he'll likely be limited to starts against left-handers to open the year while platooning with Daylen Lile.

Smith was scratched from the lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Dodgers due to left elbow soreness, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

The Diamondbacks don't believe Smith to be dealing with anything serious, but the team won't take any chances during the first game of a long season. Tim Tawa will replace him as Arizona's designated hitter and bat ninth.

Tauchman underwent surgery Thursday to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Tauchman is expected to miss the first six weeks of the season while he recovers from his operation. He'll report to Triple-A Syracuse once he's healthy but could be bumped up to Queens during the season if Carson Benge struggles during his first season in the bigs.

Simpson is out of the lineup for Thursday's season opener versus the Cardinals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Simpson closed out spring training with a six-game hitting streak and went 3-for-3 on steal attempts during that stretch, quelling most of the concerns about the left hamstring injury that had slowed him earlier in camp. He should be a fixture in the lineup against righties, but the Rays may be more selective in exposing the left-handed-hitting Simpson to same-handed pitching in 2026 after he produced a .299/.330/.299 slash line (79 wRC+) in 113 plate appearances versus lefties as a rookie. Simpson will cede left field to the right-handed-hitting Ryan Vilade while southpaw Matthew Liberatore takes the bump for St. Louis in the opener.

Carter is not in the lineup for Thursday's season opener against the Phillies.

Manager Skip Schumaker indicated during spring training that Carter will get some chances against left-handed pitching early in the season, but the outfielder will hit the bench Thursday with southpaw Cristopher Sanchez taking the ball for Philadelphia. Wyatt Langford shifts to center field while Sam Haggerty starts in left. Carter was limited to 63 big-league games last season and had a .728 OPS with five home runs and 14 steals.

Taylor has held onto a spot on the Mets' Opening Day roster, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The 32-year-old will be the top backup to the injury-prone Luis Robert in center field, and Taylor could also spell rookie Carson Benge in right field against tough left-handed pitching. Taylor stole a career-high 12 bases over 340 plate appearances in 2025 while slashing .223/.279/.319 with two homers.

Crawford is starting in center field and batting ninth Opening Day against the Rangers on Thursday.

The 22-year-old is one of Philadelphia's top prospects and is making his MLB debut at home versus the Rangers. Crawford spent last season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he had a .334/.411/.452 slash line with seven homers and 46 stolen bases. He's beginning the campaign as the Phillies' primary center fielder.

Loperfido will start in left field and bat fifth in Thursday's opener against the Angels.

Loperfido beat out Zach Cole for the Astros' left-field job, and he's occupying a favorable spot in the batting order versus right-hander Jose Soriano. The 26-year-old Loperfido has an intriguing power/speed skill set but will have to make enough contact to keep a regular job. He has a 33.3 percent strikeout rate in his first 122 major-league games.

The Mets signed Pham to a minor-league contract Thursday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Pham will be paid $2.25 million if he gets onto the major-league roster and has an April 25 opt-out date. The 38-year-old outfielder presumably will report to Triple-A Syracuse soon and is a good bet to be called up in the coming weeks if the Mets like what they see. Pham slashed .245/.330/.370 with 10 home runs and five stolen bases over 120 games with the Pirates in 2025.