MLB Player News

Ruiz went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, two runs and two RBI in a 7-5 win over the Cubs on Monday.

Ruiz reached in all four of his plate appearances Monday, falling a triple shy of a cycle. The backstop has come out of the All-Star break swinging a hot bat, going 5-for-10 with a pair of homers, four RBI, a stolen base and a 2:1 K:BB through three games. Ruiz has already surpassed his total last season with 11 homers in 2023, and he's just one RBI shy of last year's mark despite logging more than 100 fewer plate appearances thus far.

Delay was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday.

The Pirates are handing the starting catcher job over to Endy Rodriguez, with Austin Hedges moving to the backup role. That means Delay will head back to Indianapolis rather than stick around as a third catcher.

Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton confirmed Monday that Hedges is in line to serve as the Pirates' No. 2 catcher moving forward after Endy Rodriguez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Though Rodriguez will ascend to the top of the depth chart following his call-up, Hedges won't be removed from the catching mix entirely. Shelton noted that he still expects Hedges to catch a couple of times per week, and the veteran is also likely to be deployed behind the dish on select occasions late in close games when defense is of greater importance. Hedges' skills as a pitch framer and game caller may be the only attributes keeping him on the Pittsburgh roster at this point; he's slashing a lowly .175/.226/.227 over 177 plate appearances on the season.

Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton noted that Rodriguez will see the bulk of the starts at catcher moving forward, with Austin Hedges starting a couple times per week. Henry Davis still hasn't started a game at catcher since his promotion. Rodriguez got off to a slow start this season at Indianapolis while battling a forearm issue, but he had come on strong in slashing .371/.461/.565 with two home runs over his last 15 games. He should be rostered in two-catcher formats. Rodriguez is batting seventh in his major-league debut Monday versus the Guardians.

Ruiz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals.

Ruiz got the scoring started with a solo blast to right in the second inning and plated his second run of the game in the eighth. The 24-year-old already had three more home runs in 75 games this season than he did in 112 games last year. He also had six stolen bases in seven attempts last year, but Sunday's steal was his first attempt of 2023. Overall, it's been a disappointing season for Ruiz, who is now slashing .229/.281/.369 with 10 homers, 33 RBI, 25 runs and a 17:29 BB:K in 313 plate appearances.

Rodriguez will be called up by the Pirates on Monday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rodriguez had a brief stint at Triple-A Indianapolis last year and has spent the start of the 2023 campaign with the Triple-A club. Over 67 games this year, he's slashed .268/.356/.419 with six homers, 54 runs, 38 RBI and four stolen bases. The 23-year-old has had four multi-hit performances over his past five appearances and will now be rewarded with his first big-league call-up. Henry Davis has seen plenty of time in right field since being called up, so Rodriguez should have ample opportunities to carve out playing time behind the dish.

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Smith will get what looks like a routine rest day after catching the first two games after the break, as well as several innings for the National League in the All-Star Game. Austin Barnes will catch for starter Bobby Miller as Max Muncy moves up to the three hole against right-hander Max Scherzer.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Contreras has collected multiple hits in four of his last five games and is slashing .514/.600/.919 over his last 11 contests. The Cardinals are now carrying three catchers with Andrew Knizner (groin) back from the injured list, but Contreras seems to have regained his confidence and should have the clear edge in terms of playing time down the stretch.

Knizner (groin) was activated from the 10-day injured list and will start Sunday's game against the Nationals, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

The Cardinals will roll with three catchers for the time being, as Ivan Herrera remains on the roster despite Knizner's return. Knizner has popped a career-high five home runs, but even so his performance has graded out as replacement level across 35 games so far this season. He has negative fWAR for his career.

Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

The 23-year-old started Friday in the Diamondbacks' first game back from the break and extracted a bit of revenge against the team that traded him this past winter, homering as part of a two-hit effort. However, that was not enough to earn him another start in the series. Carson Kelly will catch for starter Tommy Henry on Sunday.