MLB notebook: Reds fire Price

The Cincinnati Reds fired manager Bryan Price after a 3-15 start to the 2018 season.

Price will be replaced on an interim basis by bench coach Jim Riggleman. Pitching coach Mack Jenkins was also let go on Thursday.

Cincinnati, nine games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central, is not currently searching for a permanent replacement for Price. In a statement, the team said a search would be conducted later this year.

Price was in his fifth season with the Reds but never posted a winning season. Overall, he was 279-387.

--Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who sustained a wrist contusion when hit by a pitch Wednesday, was back in action Thursday.

X-rays were negative, and Freeman returned to the lineup for the series opener against the Mets. He went 2-for-3 with a first-inning sacrifice fly in Atlanta's 12-4 win over New York.

On Wednesday, Freeman was drilled on the left wrist in nearly the exact spot he was plunked in 2017. Last year, he went to the disabled list with a fractured wrist, and the Braves suspected he might need another DL stint.

--Mike Napoli's playing career is believed to be in jeopardy after the veteran first baseman sustained a "significant" left knee injury during a game with the Cleveland Indians' Triple-A Columbus affiliate Tuesday night.

Napoli was carted off the field after getting injured attempting to field a popup in foul territory.

Napoli, 36, is playing on a minor league contract signed with the Indians in February. He had one hit (a grand slam) in 24 at-bats for Columbus after not making the major league roster out of spring training.

--The St. Louis Cardinals recalled outfield prospect Tyler O'Neill, optioning right-hander John Brebbia to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move.

O'Nell made his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, striking out as a fifth-inning pinch hitter.

O'Neill, 22, is considered among the top prospects in the Cardinals' organization. The power-hitting outfielder, acquired from the Seattle Mariners last summer for promising pitching prospect Marco Gonzales, was off to a hot start at Memphis, hitting .388 with six home runs and a Pacific Coast League-leading 18 RBIs. O'Neill has 107 home runs across 467 minor league games.

--The Chicago White Sox acquired outfielder Trayce Thompson from the Oakland Athletics and traded infielder Tyler Saladino to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Both deals involved cash considerations, with Chicago sending money to Oakland for Thompson and receiving money from Milwaukee for Saladino. The trades fit a need for the White Sox, who had a glut of reserve infielders but can offer more playing time to Thompson as a fourth outfielder and occasional starter.

Thompson, 27, returns to a White Sox team with whom he started his big league career in 2015. He is a .232 (96-for-414) career hitter with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs in 154 games with Chicago, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the A's.

--Luis Perdomo's worst start as a big-leaguer has resulted in the right-hander's demotion to Triple-A El Paso, the San Diego Padres announced Thursday.

Perdomo, 24, allowed nine runs (seven earned) in three innings in a 13-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. His ERA jumped to 8.36 in the process, and he has surrendered 26 hits, nine walks and 13 earned runs in 14 innings.

His place on the roster was taken by right-handed reliever Kirby Yates, who came off the 10-day disabled list.

--Field Level Media