MLB Player News
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Endy Rodriguez C | PIT
Pirates' Endy Rodriguez: Heating up at Indianapolis
Rodriguez is slashing .326/.400/.465 with one home run, three doubles and more walks (six) than strikeouts (five) in his last 10 games with Triple-A Indianapolis.
Henry Davis beat Rodriguez to the big leagues this season, although 17 of Davis' 20 appearances have come in right field, so Rodriguez still projects as Pittsburgh's catcher of the future. The switch-hitting Rodriguez hasn't hit for much power (.133 ISO) this year at Triple-A and his .290 BABIP is by far his lowest mark in full-season ball. His strike-zone awareness has been great all season, and this recent hot streak could be a sign that things are starting to click at the plate.
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Luis Campusano C | SD
Padres' Luis Campusano: Shifts rehab to Triple-A
Campusano (thumb) moved his rehab assignment to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday and went 3-for-6 with a double and two runs in his first two games with the affiliate.
Campusano, who is working his way back from left thumb surgery, appeared in three games in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League earlier this month before shifting his rehab assignment to Triple-A. He'll likely remain with El Paso for at least a few more games to get his timing back at the plate following a two-month-plus-long layoff from action, but once activated, Campusano could get a look with the Padres as the top understudy to Gary Sanchez. The Padres' current No. 2 catcher, Austin Nola, owns a .143/.260/.190 slash line (37 wRC+) over 150 plate appearances this season and still has two minor-league options remaining.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | LAA
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Belts eighth homer
D'Arnaud went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Rays.
The veteran catcher made franchise history when he took Zach Eflin deep in the fourth inning, as it marked the 26th straight game in which Atlanta batters had hit at least one homer -- a new record. D'Arnaud heads into the All-Star break with eight homers on the season, including four in his last seven starts, but his playing time remains erratic behind Sean Murphy at catcher and Marcell Ozuna at DH.
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Willson Contreras C | BOS
Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Homers in return
Contreras went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Sunday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the White Sox.
Contreras missed two games while recovering from a tooth procedure and made a big impact in his return. After a tumultuous first three months in his Cardinals tenure, he went 11-for-17 (.647) over his last five contests heading into the All-Star break. The surge has him up to a respectable .240/.334/.419 slash line with 10 homers, 36 RBI, 35 runs scored, five stolen bases and 20 doubles through 79 contests overall.
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Gabriel Moreno C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno: Gets rest Sunday
Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.
Moreno will receive a breather in Arizona's final contest before the All-Star break after he caught each of the team's last three games. Carson Kelly will replace Moreno behind the dish.
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Tucker Barnhart C | TEX
Cubs' Tucker Barnhart: Enters Sunday lineup
Barnhart is starting at catcher and batting ninth in Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Barnhart will start the final game before the All-Star break with Yan Gomes getting a breather. The former is struggling in a reserve role with a .189 batting average and .508 OPS across 36 games, and he's not really on the fantasy radar at this point, particularly with Miguel Amaya also on the roster as another option behind Gomes.
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Willson Contreras C | BOS
Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Back in action Sunday
Contreras (mouth) will start at catcher and bat cleanup in Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Contreras sat out both of the past two days while recovering from a tooth procedure, but he'll check back into the starting lineup for the final game before the All-Star break. Ivan Herrera will return to the bench to make room in the starting nine for Contreras.
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Sean Murphy C | ATL
Braves' Sean Murphy: Receives Sunday off
Murphy is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Murphy started the past three games and homered in each contest, but he'll receive a breather Sunday for the final game before the All-Star break. Travis d'Arnaud will take over behind the plate to catch for Bryce Elder.
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Yan Gomes C | CHC
Cubs' Yan Gomes: Receives breather Sunday
Gomes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Gomes started the past three games and will take a seat Sunday for the final game of the season's first half. Tucker Barnhart will step in behind the plate to catch for Kyle Hendricks.
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Austin Wynns C | ATH
Rockies' Austin Wynns: Pops first homer of year
Wynns went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Giants.
He took Ryan Walker deep in the second inning, giving the veteran catcher his first homer of 2023. Even playing his home games at altitude hasn't done much to improve Wynns' offense -- since joining the Rockies in early May, he's slashing .222/.265/.311 in 50 plate appearances, numbers right in line with his career .228/.273/.332 performance.