MLB Player News

Plawecki agreed to a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Saturday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Plawecki has been a competent backup throughout his career, seeing big-league time in eight consecutive seasons but never receiving more than 277 plate appearances. He'll head to the minors for now and may need an injury to Keibert Ruiz or Riley Adams to earn a call-up.

Barnes is catching and hitting ninth for Saturday's contest against the Diamondbacks, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

As expected, Barnes is hitting ninth and behind the plate with Clayton Kershaw on the mound, so Will Smith will get the night off. Barnes provides plenty of value for the Dodgers with his defense, but not much fantasy value due to his lack of offensive upside.

Nola will sit Saturday against the Rockies, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nola started the first two games of the season behind the plate, going 1-for-6 with a walk. Luis Campusano gets the start Saturday.

Bart was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees due to back tightness, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bart's 2023 campaign isn't getting off to a great start. He sat in favor of Roberto Perez on Opening Day, and it will again be Perez behind the plate Saturday. The Giants also agreed to a minor-league deal with Gary Sanchez, adding more competition at catcher.

Murphy will sit Saturday against the Nationals, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy led all catchers in games played (148) and plate appearances (611) last season, but he may have a tough time repeating those accomplishments following his move to Atlanta, a team which also employs Travis d'Arnaud. It was Murphy behind the plate and d'Arnaud as the designated hitter in the season opener, but d'Arnaud will catch Saturday while Marcell Ozuna gets some at-bats as the DH. The exact playing-time split at both positions may take some time to figure out.

Stallings will sit Saturday against the Mets, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Stallings started behind the plate in the season opener Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Since then, Nick Fortes has gotten the nod in consecutive games.

Barnhart is starting at catcher and batting ninth in Saturday's game against the Brewers.

Yan Gomes started on Opening Day, but he'll head to the bench in favor of Barnhart on Saturday. The two veterans are expected to split catching duties this season. Barnhart struggled offensively this spring, however, and could be slightly behind Gomes in the pecking order at the moment. Gomes will likely bump Barnhart back to the bench Sunday.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Brewers.

After starting Thursday's season opener and going 0-for-4 with an RBI, Gomes will take a seat and give way to Tucker Barnhart. The two veterans are expected to split playing time all season, so it's not a surprise to see them rotate in the first two games. Gomes will likely return to the lineup Sunday.

Contreras (knee) will not start Saturday against the Blue Jays.

Contreras was hit in the knee by a Jordan Hicks fastball while catching the flamethrower on Opening Day. X-rays and an MRI didn't turn up anything worse than a bruise, but he'll nonetheless sit for at least one game. Andrew Knizner takes over behind the plate. Per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, Contreras is available to pinch hit and hopes to return to the lineup Sunday.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Friday that Smith will not catch Saturday's contest against the Diamondbacks, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Roberts doesn't want Smith to catch three games in a row in the early part of the year. That means Austin Barnes will be behind the plate for the Dodgers on Saturday, and Roberts says they'll have more right-handed options in the lineup. Smith could end up being the DH, but it's also very possible he'll get a day off after playing in the first two contests.