MLB Player News

Stephenson is out of the lineup Tuesday at Cleveland.

Luke Maile will start at catcher and bat ninth for the Reds as they take on the Guardians and right-hander Lucas Giolito. Stephenson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Sunday's series finale versus the Pirates and carries a disappointing .698 OPS through 504 plate appearances this season.

Diaz is not in the lineup for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Dodgers.

Austin Wynns will catch and bat eighth for the Rockies in the early tilt at Coors Field, with Diaz presumably lined up to start the nightcap. Diaz, 32, is sitting on 14 home runs and 72 RBI through 136 games this season.

Smith is not in the lineup for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader at Colorado.

Smith will presumably catch in the nightcap after Austin Barnes starts behind the plate and bats ninth in the early tilt at Coors Field. Smith is sitting on a .796 OPS with 18 homers and 72 RBI through 122 games this season.

Mets manager Buck Showalter said after Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Phillies that Alvarez is dealing with a finger contusion after being hit on the left hand by two foul tips, Dan Gelston of the Associated Press reports.

The injury doesn't sound like anything that will result in Alvarez being shut down for the final week of the season, but it could provide further reason to continue to limit the young backstop's workload. Alvarez had already been splitting reps behind the plate with Omar Narvaez throughout September, so Showalter could lean more heavily on Narvaez as the team's No. 1 catcher for the final six contests. After going 0-for-2 prior to his departure Sunday, Alvarez is now hitless in 13 at-bats over his last six games, dropping his season-long batting average to .211.

Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and one run scored in an 8-5 loss to Atlanta in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader.

Ruiz went 6-for-40 (.150) over his previous 10 games before Sunday. The catcher has been noticeably better in the second half of the campaign, batting .284 since the All-Star break after hitting just .226 in the first half. He's at a .251/.301/.397 slash line with 17 home runs, 62 RBI, 50 runs scored and one stolen base through 539 plate appearances overall.

Alvarez (hand) left Sunday's contest versus the Phillies in the bottom of the sixth inning, Tim Healey of Newsday Sports reports.

Alvarez took two foul tips off of his left hand and was forced to leave the game. Omar Narvaez replaced him behind the plate, and more information on Alvarez's status will likely come following Sunday's contest.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

Murphy started behind the plate in Game 1 and went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and an additional run scored. Travis d'Arnaud will catch for Allan Winans in the nightcap.

Bailey is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey started the past two games and will take a seat for Sunday's series finale in Los Angeles. Blake Sabol will step in behind the plate and bat eighth.

Rodriguez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Cincinnati, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rodriguez started the past three games and will receive a breather for Sunday's series finale. Jason Delay will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.

Ruiz is not in the lineup for Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader versus Atlanta, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz was never likely to start both games of Sunday's twin bill, and he'll take a seat for the matinee. Drew Millas will work behind the plate in Game 1 with Ruiz likely to start the nightcap.