MLB Player News

Del Castillo went 2-for-5 with a triple, a home run and five RBI in Wednesday's 8-5 extra-inning win over the Orioles.

Getting the start at catcher and batting cleanup, Del Castillo nearly slugged a homer to left-center field in the third inning, instead settling for his first career triple. The 26-year-old left no doubt in the top of the 10th when he crushed a Tyler Wells fastball 420 feet to right-center for a two-run blast that broke open a 5-5 tie. It was Del Castillo's first long ball of the season, and through his first seven games of 2026 he's batting .346 (9-for-26) with 10 RBI.

Ballesteros is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Ballesteros had served as the Cubs' designated hitter in six of the past seven games but will be riding pine Wednesday while the Phillies send a tough lefty (Jesus Luzardo) to the hill. Seiya Suzuki will get a day off from playing the outfield and will draw the start at DH in the series finale.

Kelly is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Miguel Amaya will step in behind the plate for Kelly, who will be rested after making starts each of the past three days. Kelly is off to a scorching start to April, having recorded a hit in each of his starts while slashing .364/.488/.545 in 10 games overall.

Ramirez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.

Ramirez will be getting just his second day off of the season, as he's been busy between catching and designated-hitter duties. Liam Hicks will start behind the plate and bat cleanup for the Marlins on Wednesday.

Bailey is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

After starting behind the dish in 13 of the Giants' first 15 games, Bailey will now take a seat for the second time in three contests. Rookie Daniel Susac will draw the start at catcher Wednesday, but Bailey will presumably check back into the lineup for Thursday's series finale.

McCann is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Even though top backstop Gabriel Moreno (oblique) last played Friday before landing on the injured list, McCann hasn't taken over as the Orioles' primary catcher. Instead, McCann has shared the job with Adrian Del Castillo, who has made three starts to McCann's two over the last five games. Arizona also has Aramis Garcia on hand as a third option behind the plate, which lessens the Diamondbacks' need to lean heavily on any catcher for the duration of Moreno's absence.

Murphy (hip) played four innings at catcher for High-A Rome on Tuesday, going 0-for-2 at the plate.

The veteran backstop had to delay the start of his rehab assignment while he attended to a family situation, but Murphy finally got back onto the field Tuesday. He underwent hip surgery in September, and while Murphy will be ramped up slowly as he completes the final stages of his recovery, he's still on track to make his season debut with Atlanta before the end of the month.

Sanchez went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during the Brewers' 9-7 extra-inning loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Sanchez extended Milwaukee's lead to 4-2 in the seventh inning after he took Braydon Fisher deep to left field for a solo homer. Sanchez has homered in back-to-back games and is up to five long balls on the year, which is tied with Jake Bauers for most on the Brewers. Sanchez has been serving as the team's backup catcher behind William Contreras for most of the season but was the DH against Toronto, and the former should continue to see more playing time until at least mid-May, when Christian Yelich (groin) is estimated to return from the 10-day injured list.

Kelly went 2-for-4 with a walk, a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 10-4 win over the Phillies.

Just like he did last year, Kelly is off to a scorching hot start in 2026 with a .333 batting average and .922 OPS through 15 games. However, unlike 2025, the power hasn't been there for the catcher in the early going, as this was his first home run of the year. Kelly still seems to be locked in at the plate, and he should remain Chicago's top backstop ahead of Miguel Amaya, giving the former plenty of fantasy utility.

Hernandez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against Atlanta.

Hernandez started the previous three games and delivered his first multi-hit effort of the season Monday, going 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored. The 26-year-old has yet to find much success at the plate this season with a .163/.280/.209 slash line through 50 plate appearances.