MLB Player News

Brewers catcher Martin Maldonado received a day off Thursday against the Dodgers for the first time in 10 games. Juan Centeno started in his absence.

Maldonado, who has started in the absence of Jonathan Lucroy, hasn't started just twice in 16 games. He is batting .196 (9 for 46) with one home run, four RBI, three walks, six runs and 13 strikeouts in 15 games since becoming the full-time starter.

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is expected to sign with the Diamondbacks once he clears waivers, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment by the Marlins on April 27 and was placed on release waivers Tuesday.

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale confirmed Saltalamacchia will start out in the minors, per MLB Network Radio.

"He's going to play in Reno (Triple-A), get his game right and we'll figure out how we're going to work this thing," Hale said.

Tuffy Gosewisch has been the Diamondbacks' primary catcher in 2015, starting 19 of 26 games behind the plate. However, he hasn't provided much offensive support, batting just .208 with no extra-base hits and five RBI in 20 games.

The Mariners, Orioles and Royals were also teams reportedly interested in signing Saltalamacchia, who lost his starting job with the Marlins to rookie J.T. Realmuto.

Saltalamacchia has a .240/.310/.415/.725 slash line over nine MLB seasons. He hit a career-best 25 home runs in 2012 with the Red Sox.

Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch went 3 for 4 with one RBI, one run scored and one stolen base in his team's 5-1 win over the Rockies in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader.

Gosewisch didn't see action in the early game Wednesday and entered the second game of the doubleheader with just one hit in 14 at-bats over his last five games. The three hits marked a season high and represented just his second multihit performance of the season. Gosewisch has hit .208/.250/.208 in 72 at-bats.

Reds catcher Brayan Pena was given the day off and held out of the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Pirates. Pena had started each of the last four games for Cincinnati, and has been hitting fairly well recently. Over his last eight games, the veteran catcher is hitting .269 (7 for 26) with three doubles.

Tucker Barnhart made his fifth start of the year behind the dish, batting eighth for manager Bryan Price. 

Padres top catching prospect Austin Hedges will make his first career start in Wednesday's game against the Padres. Hedges was recalled from Triple-A to make his Major League debut on Monday, and appeared as a pinch hitter that evening. 

Hedges will now make the start for Derek Norris who is getting the day off Wednesday. The two will likely be sharing time with Hedges as the season continues. Manager Bud Black insisted that Hedges will get playing time, and Wednesday seems to be an indication of that fact.

With the Padres' recent call-up of prized catching prospect Austin Hedges, manager Bud Black has offered a potential solution to getting him in the lineup more often, while also playing current catcher Derek Norris. Black said Tuesday that Norris could start taking some groundballs at first base, and might see some time there this season. 

"It would just be against certain left-handed pitchers, we want to keep his bat in the lineup, like for a day game after a night game, or if he's caught consecutive games," Black said, per MLB.com. "Take the load off his feet from catching."

Norris has played just one game at first base during his career, and that was in 2013. But Black expressed confidence that Norris could handle a transition.

"It would be a gradual build-up of reps. We are working through this," Black said. "But he was an amateur third baseman. He has good hands, good feet and a good baseball mind. This will not happen quick, but we're thinking about it."

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco acknowledged Tuesday that his hip injury will likely require surgery to correct, but he's trying all possible treatments first, MLB.com reports.

"It's something that down the line, hopefully, is probably going to have to get fixed," Mesoraco said. "At this point, it's not an option because of how much of the season we have left. At some point, it's probably going to come into the picture."

Mesoraco would be on the shelf for four months if he undergoes surgery.

"We're trying to do everything we can to stop that from happening," he said. "We're trying to do the best we can to be able to finish the season before it's something that I do have to look at getting fixed."

Manager Bryan Price said that the team has not explored using him at different positions on the field in National League parks to get him on the field more regularly.

"I don't know if it's something that could happen this year," Price said. "It might be a question that's more pertinent if we come to the conclusion that he can't catch for some reason with his injury, long term -- meaning this season. But we haven't gotten to that point."

Mesoraco is likely to see time at designated hitter this weekend when the Reds play in an American League park and looking forward to the opportunity.

"This is definitely not easy sitting on the bench watching the guys and not being able to be out there and help them," Mesoraco said. "Hopefully this will give me a chance to get back in there."

The Mets optioned third baseman Eric Campbell to Triple-A Las Vegas Tuesday and selected the contract of catcher Johnny Monell, the team announced.

Campbell drew 15 straight starts at third base after David Wright hit the disabled list, but the team chose Friday to move Daniel Murphy to third base and play Dilson Herrera at second, an alignment to which they stuck throughout the weekend. Campbell hit just .200/.323/.320 with one home run and five RBI in 50 at-bats.

Monell will give the Mets another lefty bat off the bench moving forward. He has hit .397/.455/.638 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 58 at-bats with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Reds shortstop Zack Cozart (finger) and catcher Devin Mesoraco (hip) are not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Cozart sustained a finger injury while misplaying a groundball Sunday. It's the first time this season that the Reds haven't used him at shortstop to start the game. Kris Negron, who replaced Cozart Sunday, will bat seventh and play the position. Manager Bryan Price did say that Cozart is available to play Tuesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco hasn't been in the starting lineup since the fifth game of the season but could see some starts later this week at designated hitter when the Reds play in an American League park.

The Reds are underdogs (+135) in Pittsburgh Tuesday, per VegasInsider.com.

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal expressed hope after slugging a homer Sunday that his slump was over.

Apparently it is.

Grandal mashed three more hits Monday night in Milwaukee, including a double. He has seven hits in his last nine at-bats as his average has skyrocketed from .179 to .262, its highest point of the season. He has an extra-base hit in each of his last three games.