MLB Player News

Naylor is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Naylor was behind the dish for Tuesday's 8-3 loss, so he'll get a breather Wednesday with the series finale beginning at 1:10 p.m. ET. Cam Gallagher will do the catching for starting pitcher Gavin Williams while Naylor rests.

Pinto went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Pinto has split the catcher role evenly across the last two weeks with Christian Bethancourt, and he's made the case to maintain that playing time by hitting .357 with three homers and nine RBI across 12 games. After his home run Tuesday, he's also gone deep into back-to-back games and has four extra-base knocks in his last six contests. Pinto has the profile of a backup catcher after progressing slowly through the Rays' minor-league system, though he did post 125 and 116 wRC+ marks with Triple-A Durham in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Maldonado went 2-for-5 with a pair of two-run home runs in Tuesday's 14-1 victory over the Rangers.

Maldonado played a key role in the Astros offensive barrage Tuesday, accounting for two of the team's six home runs on the day. The catcher plated Mauricio Dubon on both long balls, with each coming off opposing pitcher Dane Dunning. Over his last six appearances, Maldonado is batting 7-for-23 (.304) with three homers, six total RBI and four total runs scored.

Lee went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's 7-6 loss against Kansas City.

Despite entering Tuesday's game hitless over his last eight appearances and sporting a 1-for-25 (.040) tally on the season, Lee delivered a three-run home run off Brady Singer for his first career long ball. Although Tuesday's performance was encouraging, fantasy managers shouldn't get their hopes up moving forward considering his previous struggles.

Naylor went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's 8-3 loss against the Twins.

Naylor launched a two-run homer in the third inning and added a stolen base after reaching on a walk in the fifth. The rookie backstop posted a slash line of .179/.267/.325 through his first 39 career games. However, the 23-year-old has turned things around over his last 14 games, compiling a .351 batting average with four home runs, nine RBI and seven runs across 37 at-bats during tha stretch.

Vazquez went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Tuesday's 8-3 win over Cleveland.

Breaking out of a 1-for-22 slump that had encompassed his previous seven games, Vazquez reached base in all four plate appearances Tuesday, including a sixth-inning solo shot that tied the game at 3-3. The 33-year-old backstop is now hitting .222 with six home runs, 28 RBI and 30 runs scored across 88 games (304 plate appearances) on the season.

Jeffers is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has alternated starts for his two catchers over the last week, and it's Christian Vazquez's turn after Jeffers was behind the plate for Monday's 20-6 win. Jeffers has a hit in each of his three games so far in September after finishing August going 0-for-13 with 10 strikeouts in his final three tilts.

Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.

Bethancourt will retreat to the bench after he caught all nine innings of Monday's 7-3 loss in the series opener while striking out in each of his three plate appearances. Rene Pinto will get a turn behind the plate while he and Bethancourt continue to work in a near-even timeshare at catcher.

Wells is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Tigers.

Ben Rortvedt has been catching Gerrit Cole and will do so again Tuesday. Wells started each of the first three games after his recent promotion, going 2-for-10 with two RBI. He should be back in the lineup for Wednesday's contest.

Diaz went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run and two total runs scored Monday against the Rangers.

Diaz drew the start behind the plate and has been in the lineup in four of six games since Michael Brantley returned, with one of those appearances coming at designated hitter. Even though he's continued to hit well, the path to playing time for Diaz may be closing as the team looks to protect the health of both Brantley and Yordan Alvarez -- making it likely that one of the duo will occupy the designated hitter role. Meanwhile, the Astros have yet to show the desire to move away from Martin Maldonado behind the dish, which could give Diaz an uphill battle for playing time moving forward.