MLB Player News

D'Arnaud (concussion) hit in the batting cage Friday, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

D'Arnaud is back to doing baseball activities 11 days after being placed on the 7-day concussion injured list. If all goes well, the 34-year-old could feasibly return to Atlanta's active roster sometime early next week. He was off to an 11-for-33 start (.333) prior to the injury and had been starting pretty much every day between DH and catcher.

Rodriguez (forearm) was placed on the 7-day injured list Friday at Triple-A Indianapolis, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez connected for his third home run of the season Thursday against Memphis, but he later departed that game after injuring his right arm on a throw. There's no exact diagnosis or return date yet for the highly touted 22-year-old catcher. He's scheduled to visit with the Pirates' medical staff this weekend.

Stallings isn't starting Friday against the Guardians, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Stallings has recorded a hit in each of his last two games, but still holds just a .515 OPS on the year. Nick Fortes will start behind the dish in his place and bat eighth.

Ruiz has been moved up to the two spot in the Nationals' lineup for Friday's game against the Twins, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Ruiz and Dominic Smith are flip-flopping lineup spots, with Smith dropping down to sixth. The move seems less about what Ruiz (.689 OPS) has done and more about Smith's (.550 OPS) struggles as the Nats look for a spark.

Sabol went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-4 loss to the Mets.

Sabol got the Giants on the board with his fifth-inning solo shot. Both of his homers have come in his last three games. The 25-year-old is playing primarily against right-handed pitchers, but his .190/.244/.405 slash line through 45 plate appearances isn't all that inspiring. He's added three homers, five RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that he doesn't expect Smith (concussion) to return during the weekend series against the Cubs, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

The initial plan was for Smith to return to the Dodgers' lineup Thursday against the Cubs, but it now seems that he will have to wait a bit longer. Roberts added that Smith is improving but gave no more details on when the 28-year-old backstop might play again.

Alvarez is not in the lineup Thursday night against the Giants.

Tomas Nido will catch and bat ninth with left-hander Sean Manaea on the mound for San Francisco. Alvarez has started just five of a possible 13 games since his promotion from Triple-A Syracuse on April 7.

Gomes isn't starting Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes will get a second consecutive day of rest Thursday after going 3-for-12 with two RBI in his last three games. Tucker Barnhart will take over behind the dish and bat ninth.

Ruiz went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's loss to the Orioles.

The catcher accounted for half of the Nationals' six hits on the night, with none of his teammates collecting more than one. Ruiz has seen a heavy workload so far, starting 16 of Washington's 18 games, and while he's produced a respectable .262/.328/.361 slash line, he's managed only one homer, two runs and five RBI due in large part to the anemic lineup around him.

Herrera was removed from Wednesday's 14-5 loss to the Cardinals in the bottom of the sixth inning after taking a foul ball off his helmet while he was behind the plate, the Associated Press reports.

Gabriel Moreno came off the bench to replace Herrera, who went 1-for-3 with a strikeout prior to departing. The Diamondbacks will presumably put Herrera through concussion tests before deciding whether he's available to stay on the active roster as a backup to Moreno or if the team will need to delve into the minor-league ranks to find a new No. 2 catcher.