MLB Player News

Sands was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

The 26-year-old catcher will make his first appearance in the big leagues as rosters expand to 28 players in September. He's slashed .308/.413/.428 in Triple-A this season and figures to serve as depth behind the plate for Philadelphia.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rockies.

After a recent three-game absence due to soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, Ronald Acuna has been eased back into the lineup the last two days as Atlanta's designated hitter. As a result, Atlanta won't have room in the starting nine for both Contreras and Travis d'Arnaud, who gets the nod behind the plate Thursday. Contreras caught in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Colorado while d'Arnaud sat out, finishing with two base hits in three at-bats to lift his season-long average to .272.

The Mets announced Thursday that Alvarez has been diagnosed with a loose body in his right ankle but won't need surgery to address the injury, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez, who hasn't played for Triple-A Syracuse since Aug. 23, will instead receive a pain-killing injection in the ankle with the hope of resuming baseball activities in 3-to-4 days. If the injection yields the desired effect and Alvarez responds well to workouts, he could slot back into the Triple-A lineup by mid-September. The time that Alvarez has missed in addition to his lackluster numbers at Syracuse since receiving a promotion from Double-A Binghamton in early July makes it unlikely that he'll get the call up to the Mets before the end of the season, even though the big club has received little production from catchers James McCann and Tomas Nido.

Nido is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The playing time at catcher has tilted in favor of James McCann lately, with Nido having now sat in three of the past four games. Even if Nido re-emerges as the preferred backstop for the Mets, he's unlikely to provide much of an imprint in fantasy leagues, given that he's hitting .222 with no home runs or stolen bases in 252 plate appearances on the campaign.

The Nationals recalled Barrera from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The addition of Barrera gives the Nationals a third catcher, which will perhaps allow the team to build in more rest days for No. 1 backstop Keibert Ruiz while allowing Riley Adams to pick up some work as a designated hitter. Barrera appeared in 14 games for Washington earlier in 2022, batting .182 with four RBI and two runs.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The Nationals and Athletics are wrapping up their series with a day game, so Ruiz will get a breather after starting the past two nights. Ruiz is entrenched as Washington's No. 1 backstop, but he could still receive more rest days down the stretch with the Nationals having added a third catcher in Tres Barrera to the roster as one of their September call-ups.

Contreras (ankle), who is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays, had X-rays come back negative and was cleared of structural damage after undergoing an MRI, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The 30-year-old exited Tuesday's contest due to the ankle soreness he's been battling over the past week-plus, and it appears he'll continue to play through the injury since there's no serious concerns. According to manager David Ross the team will "look out for him and his career and his long-term health," though the skipper also said Contreras is "a baseball player and likes to play baseball." Contreras' playing time could be managed down the stretch if the ankle continues to bother him.

McCann is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.

McCann will head to the bench after he caught in three of the Mets' past four games. Tomas Nido will form a battery with starting pitcher Jacob deGrom on Wednesday.

Tromp had his rehab assignment shut down after he aggravated his left quadriceps injury at Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.

Tromp joined the Triple-A club for a rehab assignment Sunday and went 0-for-6 with a run, a walk and two strikeouts over two games. However, it's not yet clear when he'll be cleared to return from the injured list following Tuesday's setback.

Contreras (ankle) isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Contreras exited Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jays due to a sore left ankle and will be held out of the lineup for the series finale in Toronto. It's not yet clear whether he'll be available off the bench, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cubs try to avoid using him since the team has a scheduled day off Thursday. Yan Gomes is starting at catcher and batting seventh.