MLB Player News

Adams will start at catcher and bat fifth in Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Much of Adams' playing time comes versus left-handers, and he will face southpaw Martin Perez on Thursday while Keibert Ruiz rests. Adams put up a .960 OPS in 76 plate appearances against lefties in 2023.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

The Marlins continue to embrace a timeshare behind the plate, as Fortes and Christian Bethancourt have now made four starts apiece at catcher through Miami's first eight games. One of the two catchers may separate himself from the other from a performance standpoint and eventually emerge as the clear No. 1 option, but Fortes hasn't done much to distinguish himself thus far. Through his first four starts, Fortes has gone 1-for-12 with a double and also reached base when he was hit by a pitch.

Ruiz is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Pirates.

He will give way to Riley Adams behind the plate in the series finale. Ruiz will sometimes serve as the Nationals' designated hitter on days he doesn't catch, but it looks like he'll receive a full day off Thursday.

Contreras is dealing with lingering swelling in his left hand but has yet to undergo imaging ahead of Thursday's game against the Marlins, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Contreras stayed in the game in Wednesday after being hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, drawing a walk in his final plate appearance in the eighth. His hand remains swollen, however, and there would seem to be a good chance he'll be held out of the lineup for Thursday's home opener. If Contreras unable to go, Ivan Herrera would do the catching for the Cardinals.

Bailey went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.

Bailey accounted for two of San Francisco's five hits in the contest, and he produced the team's first run with his solo shot in the third inning. The backstop has collected multiple hits in three of his five games so far and is slashing .375/.444/.563 through 19 plate appearances. Bailey is locked in as the Giants' primary backstop, but he'll need to show a longer run of offensive success to make more than a ripple in fantasy circles after he slashed just .233/.285/.359 with a 28.3 percent strikeout rate over 353 plate appearances as a rookie last year.

Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's win over the Cardinals.

Higashioka made his second start of the campaign -- filling in for Luis Campusano, who got the night off -- and delivered his first long ball of the season. The homer was his first hit after he went 0-for-4 in his first game of the season. Considering Campusano has a clear hold on catcher duties, Higashioka should generally remain outside of fantasy consideration.

King is recovering from right shoulder surgery in October and is expected to get in games later this summer, MLB.com reports.

A fourth-round pick in 2022, King is a glove-first catcher with no experience above rookie ball. He hit .324 with zero home runs, 23 strikeouts and five steals in 21 games in the Arizona Complex League last year as a 19-year-old.

Manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday that Grandal (foot) just started a running progression and is "a ways away" from being game ready, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Progress has been slow since Grandal was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in early March, but the start of a running progression is an encouraging development. Still, the Pirates clearly don't expect the 35-year-old to be available anytime in the near future. The club traded for Joey Bart on Tuesday to boost its catching depth.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Rockies.

The Cubs have now gone with Miguel Amaya at catcher in two straight games and three of the last four contests. Gomes still seems likely to ultimately receive the bulk of the starts behind the dish, but manager Craig Counsell evidently is liking what Amaya is bringing right now.

Amaya will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Heading into the regular season, Amaya looked to be the Cubs' clear No. 2 catcher, but he's operated in more of a timeshare with Yan Gomes behind the plate. The two backstops have now made three starts apiece over the Cubs' first six games, with all three of Amaya's starts coming within the last four of those contests. The 25-year-old will likely need to capture a larger role before becoming a more viable roster option in mixed leagues that start just one catcher, but he might be a worthy pickup in two-catcher leagues or NL-only leagues based on how frequently he's been playing early on this season.