MLB Player News

Perez is not in the lineup Thursday afternoon against the White Sox.

Blake Sabol will take a turn behind the plate and bat ninth versus White Sox righty Lance Lynn. LaMonte Wade is in left field and batting leadoff. Perez seems to have emerged as the Giants' primary catcher with Joey Bart (back) on the injured list, but he'll grab some rest during Thursday's matinee game in Chicago.

Alvarez is headed to New York to join the Mets in the event he is needed on the active roster, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.

Omar Narvaez exited Wednesday's game in Milwaukee with a calf injury and will be evaluated by team doctors when the team arrives in New York. If he needs to go on the injured list, Alvarez will be the one to replace him. The young catcher is 3-for-12 with a home run and a double in the early going at Triple-A Syracuse. If he's added to the Mets' roster, Alvarez would likely share time with Tomas Nido behind the plate and perhaps see some starts at designated hitter while Narvaez is out. He's worth scooping up in certain fantasy leagues, but keep in mind he might only be DH-eligible initially.

Narvaez was removed late in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to Milwaukee with a left calf injury, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. He went 1-for-4 with a base hit prior to departing the game.

Narvaez felt something in the calf during his last plate appearance and was taken out in the final frame. He'll be examined but is being referred to as day-to-day for now. If Narvaez winds up having to miss some time, it could clear the way for a Francisco Alvarez promotion.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a run-scoring double in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Rockies.

Smith left the yard for the third game in a row and appears to have settled in just fine after moving up to the No. 3 spot in the order in 2023 after primarily batting cleanup last season. He's recorded at least one hit while starting in five of the Dodgers' first six games and is tied for the MLB lead in RBI with 10.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Contreras gets the day game off with Andrew Knizner getting the start behind the dish and hitting ninth. The veteran backstop had an injury scare early in the campaign, but he has picked up six hits in his first 17 at-bats as a member of the Cardinals.

Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Atlanta's series finale with the Cardinals on Wednesday, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy will head back to the bench after he went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and two strikeouts in Tuesday's victory. The 28-year-old has now started only three out of six games to open the season after signing a lucrative deal with Atlanta in the offseason. Travis d'Arnaud will draw the start behind the plate and bat fourth against St. Louis.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Cardinals.

Atlanta manager Brian Snikter has had little choice but to make d'Arnaud an everyday player in the early going, as the veteran catcher has hits in five straight games while batting .455 (10-for-22) with three doubles, three runs and four RBI. The 34-year-old will need some rest eventually, whether he cools down at the plate or not, but he's started three of his five games at DH so far and should see consistent playing time at the position even as Sean Murphy handles the majority of the starts behind the plate.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

After starting behind the plate in each of the Marlins' last three contests, Stallings will get a breather as Miami concludes its season-opening homestand with an afternoon game. Nick Fortes will catch for starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo in the series finale.

Heineman went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Heineman was called up Tuesday after Austin Hedges (concussion) was placed on the injured list, and he immediately drew a start behind the plate while hitting ninth. He had a key sequence to provide Pittsburgh with an insurance run during the seventh inning, as he reached base on a single, stole second base and then came around to score. Heineman managed just a .544 OPS across 174 plate appearances in the majors in 2022, so his ability to provide ongoing production is questionable at best.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.

Gomes and Tucker Barnhart will continue their rotation at catcher, with the two having now alternated turns behind the dish through the first six games of the campaign. Over his first three starts and four total appearances, Gomes has produced just one hit in 13 at-bats.