MLB Player News

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.

Stephenson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk and three total RBI in Saturday's loss to the Pirates.

Stephenson was part of an early offensive outburst by the Reds, hitting a solo homer in the first inning and adding a two-run double in the second. He had been struggling coming into the contest, going 4-for-34 over his previous 10 contests. Despite the recent struggles, Stephenson has recorded career-best marks with 12 homers and 53 RBI over 137 games this season.

Smith will sit Saturday against the Giants, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers have gone with a pattern of two starts for Smith followed by one start for Austin Barnes for most of the last month. If the pattern continues, we'll see Smith start Sunday and then four more times over the final week. The Dodgers are all but locked into the second seed in the National League, however, trailing Atlanta by 4.5 games while leading Milwaukee by 6.5, which could result in additional off days for the team's regulars over the final week.

Alvarez will sit for the second straight game Saturday against the Phillies.

One would expect a 71-83 team to maximize at-bats for its 21-year-old catcher of the future down the stretch, but it's instead been 31-year-old impending free agent Omar Narvaez to start three of the last four games behind the plate. Perhaps the Mets simply don't want to tax Alvarez's knees too much at the end of a long season. The rookie's .213/.286/.433 season slash line is good for a 97 wRC+, a perfectly acceptable mark for a catcher, but he's managed just a .171/.269/.291 line (60 wRC+) since the start of August, which suggests he could use a break.

Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Friday against the Reds.

Rodriguez popped a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, the third long ball of his career. He's struggled considerably across his last 10 starts, managing only a .167 batting average with three RBI and four runs scored. Positively, he's struck out at only a 20 percent clip in that span, so he could turn things around prior to the close of the regular season.

Campusano is not in the lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

Brett Sullivan will start at catcher and bat ninth in the Padres' series opener versus St. Louis. Campusano was also on the bench for Wednesday's series finale against the Rockies but entered to deliver a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. He seems to be healthy.