MLB Player News

Mesoraco is out of the lineup Friday against the Pirates.

He has been playing every other day for the past week, and has been completely ineffective offensively, slashing .140/.218/.160. Tucker Barnhart will start at catcher and hit sixth Friday.

Barnes continued his hot streak Thursday, going 1-for-4 with a walk against Omaha.

Barnes has been on a tear at Triple-A Oklahoma City since being sent down by the Dodgers on April 15. The young catcher has a .333/.488/.455 slash line to go along with nine walks in nine games. After a tough start to the season while in the majors, Barnes has clearly found his swing and is an intriguing prospect for a Dodgers team struggling in run production.

Realmuto hit his second homer of the year as part of a 2-for-4 evening with two runs scored against the Dodgers on Thursday.

Not a week ago, he was hitting .188; in the span of five games, Realmuto's racked up 10 hits in 19 at-bats, raising that average nearly 100 points to .284. That's April sample sizes for you. The 25-year-old catcher has been a workhorse early on, appearing in 18 of the Marlins' 21 games so far -- an amount of playing time that should keep him quite relevant across the majority of fantasy formats.

Grandal is out of the lineup Wednesday against Miami, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

The Dodgers are taking on lefthanded starter Justin Nicolino on Wednesday, which has resulted in the decision to start A.J. Ellis behind the plate. As a switch-hitter, Grandal is a far better hitter from the left side of the plate (.167 against lefties, .296 against righties), so Wednesday's matchup against Nicolino provides Los Angeles with an ideal opportunity to give Grandal a day off.

Hedges (hand) will undergo surgery on his hand and will be out four-to-six weeks, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges was originally given a timetable of six-to-eight weeks, but apparently things are better than initially expected, which could allow the catcher to return a bit sooner. Hedges was performing well with Triple-A El Paso, batting .333 with two home runs, so if he can return to that form and prove that his bat is on par with his defense, he could get the call to the big leagues once he's healthy.

Rupp is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports.

This appears to be a regular say off for Rupp despite the fact that he's holding a modest six-game hit streak. Carlos Ruiz will catch and bat fifth with him out of the lineup.

Barnhart collected two hits -- including a double -- and scored a run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Mets.

the 25-year-old doesn't play everyday, but he's been very productive to start the young season. He's got an impressive .355/.412/.419 slash line and will likely find his way into the lineup more often if he keeps hitting.

Contrary to a previous report, Hedges has a hamate bone fracture, and will miss six-to-eight weeks, MLB.com's AJ Cassavell reports.

It was originally reported as a hand contusion, but the injury ended up being more serious. Hedges' defensive skills are unquestioned, but he still needs to show he can be even a mediocre hitter in the big leagues. He was off to a good start prior to the injury, slashing .333/.385/.583 with two home runs in 10 games at Triple-A, and could get recalled this summer once he is healthy, especially if Derek Norris gets traded.

Mesoraco is out of the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with the Mets.

Mesoraco will sit out again while backup Tucker Barnhart steps in behind the plate and bats sixth in his place. While Mesoraco has a homer in three career at-bats against Mets starter Bartolo Colon, he has been slumping of late, recording three hits in his last 18 at-bats.

Plawecki will see an uptick in playing time with Travid d'Arnaud landing on the 15-day disabled with a strained rotator cuff.

Plawecki played in 73 games last season as a rookie, many of which occurred while d'Arnaud was sidelined with injury. He struggled last season and began this year in danger of getting sent down to Triple-A to accumulate more at-bats. That won't be a concern now, as Plawecki should play nearly every day backed up by a defense-oriented catcher in Rene Rivera.