We report recent results on the dynamics of strange hadrons in two-body reactions relevant for near-threshold production in heavy-ion collisions at GSI/FAIR and NICA-Dubna. In particular, \(\bar K N\) scattering in hot and dense nuclear matter is studied within a chiral unitary framework in coupled channels, setting up the starting point for implementations in microscopic off-shell transport approaches. We focus on the calculation of transition rates with special attention to the excitation of hyperon resonances and isospin effects. Additionally, we explore "unconventional" strangeness generation by meson-meson and meson-baryon interactions in connection with recent HADES observations of deep sub-threshold \(\phi\) and \(\Xi\) production.