MLB Player News
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Willson Contreras C | BOS
Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Will play through hand injury
Contreras admitted after Tuesday's loss to the Diamondbacks that his left hand "doesn't feel good" but is "nothing that will keep me away from the game," Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Contreras missed four games earlier this month with an injury that was suffered back on April 3. He homered in his first plate appearance for the Cardinals' lone run Tuesday before eventually exiting after the fifth inning in the blowout loss. Manager Oliver Marmol said the lopsided score was the bigger reason for Contreras' departure, and the catcher seems adamant that he will continue to play through the injury. Contreras is slashing .326/.426/.500 in 13 games since getting hurt, so while it's clear he's not 100 percent, it does not appear to be affecting his offensive performance.
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Willson Contreras C | BOS
Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Goes yard in blowout loss
Contreras went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 14-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Contreras provided a positive start for the Cardinals with his first-inning blast, but it quickly went off the rails for the home team after that. The catcher saw his 11-game hitting streak end Monday, but he's still been one of the Cardinals' most consistent bats so far. He's slashing .292/.418/.523 with three homers, eight RBI, 10 runs scored, six doubles and a stolen base over 19 contests. Manager Oliver Marmol has committed to getting both Contreras and Ivan Herrera regular at-bats, so they have often shared catcher and designated hitter in recent weeks.
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Francisco Alvarez C | NYM
Mets' Francisco Alvarez: Undergoes thumb operation
Alvarez underwent surgery on his left thumb Tuesday, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
Alvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a torn UCL in his left thumb and he will now officially begin the road to recovery. The Mets said Tuesday that the catcher is expected to miss eight weeks of action while recovering from the surgery, which likely means that Alvarez will be on the shelf until late June. In the meantime, Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido will continue to split the work behind the plate for New York.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Starting rehab assignment
Ruiz (illness) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Ruiz will be with Harrisburg for a couple days before being activated from the injured list, likely on Friday when the Nationals begin a road trip. He hasn't played in two weeks due to a stomach bug which caused him to lose nearly 20 pounds. Riley Adams has been filling in as the Nats' primary catcher.
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Henry Davis RF | PIT
Pirates' Henry Davis: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Davis is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Brewers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Davis is 2-for-19 with eight strikeouts over his past six games and will sit Tuesday for the third time in Pittsburgh's last four contests. The young catcher has a .510 OPS for the season and could be in danger of losing his roster spot when Yasmani Grandal (foot) completes his rehab assignment. Joey Bart is starting behind the plate and batting eighth Tuesday.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | LAA
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Goes yard again
D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Monday's win over Miami.
D'Arnaud knocked a 365-foot home run off Ryan Weathers in the fourth inning to give him his fifth homer in four games. The recent hot stretch is a welcome sight for the veteran catcher as he was previously slashing .200/.250/.311 over 48 plate appearances. D'Arnaud should continue garnering the majority of playing time in Atlanta until Sean Murphy (oblique) returns.
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Christian Bethancourt C | CHC
Marlins' Christian Bethancourt: Starts up rehab assignment
Bethancourt (illness) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday and went 3-for-13 with a double and a stolen base across his first three games with the affiliate.
Bethancourt was placed on the 10-day IL on April 15 after coming down with a viral illness, but his ability to return to game action a few days later suggests that he's tracking toward a minimum-length stay on the shelf. Once Bethancourt is activated, he'll likely be part of a timeshare with Nick Fortes behind the plate.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Likely headed for rehab stint
Ruiz (illness) indicated Sunday that he is almost fully recovered from the bout of the flu that landed him on the 10-day injured list, but he's expected to go on a short rehab stint before being activated, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.
The 25-year-old catcher has lost nearly 20 pounds while battling the bug, but he's begun taking part in some baseball activities and lifting weights again. He also tried to spin the weight loss as a positive. "But I feel good. I feel lighter," Ruiz said. "So I've got to take the positives. I feel like I can run better, move better. And I gain weight fast, too. I'm going to eat a couple burgers." Ruiz will likely be assigned to Double-A Harrisburg to get back into game shape, and while he's eligible to come off the IL as soon as Tuesday, a return this weekend for a series in Miami seems more plausible.
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Tomas Nido C | DET
Mets' Tomas Nido: Makes defensive impact Sunday
Nido went 1-for-3 with a strikeout in Sunday's loss to the Dodgers.
Making his first start of the season for the Mets and batting ninth, Nido threw out Will Smith attempting to swipe second base to end the third inning -- a noteworthy event only because Francisco Alvarez (thumb) and Omar Narvaez had gone a combined 0-for-28 to begin the season in throwing out base stealers. With Alvarez sidelined and Narvaez batting just .200 (5-for-25), Nido's defense could earn him more than just a short-side platoon role while he's in the majors.