MLB Player News

Rodriguez (hip) is starting behind the plate and batting seventh Friday against the Marlins.

The 26-year-old exited Wednesday's game against the Dodgers due to left hip discomfort but is ready to rejoin the lineup for Friday's series opener versus the Marlins. Since going 2-for-4 with a double and a homer June 2, Rodriguez has just one hit in 16 at-bats over his past seven contests.

Baldwin (oblique) will report to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday to begin a rehab assignment, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

The 25-year-old catcher was able to progress to taking live batting practice this week and has now been cleared for game action after recovering from the oblique strain that sent him to the injured list in mid-May. Assuming all goes well with Gwinnett, Baldwin could be back in Atlanta for the start of the team's next homestand, which begins Tuesday versus the Giants.

Crooks went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Mets.

Crooks put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 in the second inning with his 374-foot blast off Christian Scott, his first long ball this season. Since he was called up May 29, Crooks has been part of a committee behind the plate with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages, going 4-for-22 (.182) with a .614 OPS across seven games. Crooks appeared in 15 games with St. Louis in 2025, slashing .133/.152/.244 with one home run.

Flores went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, a second RBI and a walk in Thursday's 8-6 loss to the Dodgers.

Flores got the start behind the plate as the Pirates deal with a bit of a crisis at catcher. Endy Rodriguez (hip) was banged up from Wednesday's game, while Henry Davis (paternity) and Joey Bart (foot) were both unavailable. This was just the ninth game of Flores' big-league career, and he delivered a homer in the fifth inning to get Pittsburgh on the board. His stay in the majors is likely to be short, but he could get another game or two before heading back to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Kelly went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-3 win over the Rockies.

A day after getting a break from the starting lineup, Kelly returned with his third home run of the season. The Chicago catcher has been a steady enough hitter with a .282 batting average and .731 OPS across 51 games, though Thursday's long ball was his first since April 18. The power has been noticeably down from 2025, when Kelly went deep 17 times in 111 regular-season contests.

Sullivan went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in a loss to the Cubs on Thursday.

Sullivan got the start behind the plate and batted out of the No. 9 slot in the order. He hit two of Colorado's three long balls (all solo shots) to post the first multi-homer game of his career. In fact, coming into Thursday, Sullivan had gone deep just three times across 206 career MLB plate appearances. Sullivan's performance against the Cubs was also his first multi-hit effort since April 29, and with one of baseball's most productive hitting catchers (Hunter Goodman) ahead of him on the depth chart, Sullivan doesn't figure to see extensive playing time moving forward.

The Dodgers selected Robinson's contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.

The 31-year-old will join the big club for the first time this season to make up for the loss of Will Smith, who landed on the injured list Thursday with neck inflammation. Robinson owns a .763 OPS through 84 plate appearances at Triple-A this season but isn't likely to receive many at-bats with the Dodgers while working as a backup to Dalton Rushing.

The Dodgers placed Smith on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to Monday, due to neck inflammation.

Smith has missed the Dodgers' last four games because of his injured neck, and manager Dave Roberts confirmed Wednesday that the All-Star backstop would require an IL stint and ramp-up period before returning to action. Dalton Rushing will fill in behind the plate most days while Smith is out, and Chuckie Robinson will join the big club from Triple-A to work as the backup catcher.

Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals.

Getting the start at DH in his second game since being activated from the injured list, Alvarez supplied all the Mets' offense with a two-run shot off Andre Pallante in the fourth inning, his first long ball since April 11. Alvarez has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games sandwiched around his nearly month-long stay on the IL due to knee surgery, slashing .306/.342/.472 over that stretch.

Sanchez went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Athletics.

Sanchez collected his second multi-hit effort in a row. It's also his second straight game with a homer after he went 27 contests between long balls, during which he had a .576 OPS. The backup catcher is batting .219 with an .845 OPS, seven homers, 19 RBI, 20 runs scored, four doubles, one triple and no stolen bases over 130 plate appearances this season. While his power looks to be coming back, Sanchez is no real threat to William Contreras' playing time.