MLB Player News
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Francisco Alvarez C | NYM
Mets' Francisco Alvarez: Rejoining lineup Sunday
Alvarez (elbow) will start at catcher and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.
Alvarez was held out for Saturday's 5-2 win after he was struck in the left elbow by a fastball in Friday's 14-2 loss in the series opener, but the day off was apparently all the young catcher needed to overcome the soreness he had been experiencing. Since returning from the injured list June 11, Alvarez has slashed .338/.413/.600 with three home runs, 15 RBI and eight runs.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Resting Sunday
Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Ruiz will get a breather for the day game after he started behind the plate in the first two games of the series with St. Louis, going 4-for-9 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and two additional runs between those contests. Riley Adams will get the nod at catcher Sunday.
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Garrett Stubbs C | PHI
Phillies' Garrett Stubbs: Back in lineup Sunday
Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against Atlanta.
After sitting out in three of the past four games, Stubbs is back behind the dish for the series finale in Atlanta. In two of those three games that the lefty-hitting Stubbs didn't start, the Phillies opposed left-handed pitchers, so Stubbs would still seem to have a hold on the larger portion of a timeshare at catcher with the switch-hitting Rafael Marchan. Both backstops will see their opportunities decline once J.T. Realmuto (knee) returns from the injured list.
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Sean Murphy C | ATL
Braves' Sean Murphy: Receiving Sunday off
Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Phillies.
Murphy was on the bench for Friday's series opener and will also sit for Sunday's finale after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Saturday's contest. Travis d'Arnaud will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Reynaldo Lopez.
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: Goes deep again Saturday
Smith went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-3 win against Milwaukee.
After belting three solo homers Friday, Smith smashed a two-run shot in his first at-bat Saturday. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the backstop became the first Dodger to homer in four straight at-bats since Adrian Gonzalez in 2015 and the first major leaguer to do so since Jose Altuve in September of last season. Smith's two-game power surge has pushed him to 15 long balls on the campaign, tied for third among MLB catchers.
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Luis Torrens C | NYM
Mets' Luis Torrens: Drives in three against Bucs
Torrens went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Pirates.
Getting the nod behind the plate after Francisco Alvarez took a Paul Skenes fastball off his elbow Friday, Torrens opened the scoring with a bases-loaded double in the third inning. He hasn't fallen out of the game plan completely since Alvarez returned from the injured list about a month ago -- Torrens has started four of the last seven games, three at catcher and one at DH, and manager Carlos Mendoza will likely continue to find way to get him into the lineup given his .317/.364/.610 slash line with three homers in 44 plate appearances since joining the Mets.
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Luke Maile C | CIN
Reds' Luke Maile: Hopeful for abbreviated IL stint
Reds manager David Bell said Friday that he's hopeful that Maile (back) will be ready to return from the 10-day injured list shortly after the All-Star break, MLB.com reports.
Maile was diagnosed with a herniated disc and placed on the IL on Friday after he had previously complained of a nerve issue on the lower right side near his hip following the Reds' 8-4 win over the Yankees on Thursday. Bell said that Maile has already received an injection to treat the injury, so the veteran backstop could be cleared to resume baseball activities once the shot takes full effect. Austin Wynns was called up from Triple-A Louisville on Friday and will serve as the backup to Tyler Stephenson while Maile is on the shelf.
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Gabriel Moreno C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno: Getting breather Saturday
Moreno is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego.
Moreno had started in four straight games since being activated from the injured list and will yield to Jose Herrera behind the dish Saturday. Moreno owns a .714 OPS and a 15.3 percent K-rate across 235 plate appearances this season.
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Ivan Herrera C | STL
Cardinals' Ivan Herrera: Progressing through rehab program
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said Saturday that Herrera (back) experienced no pain after Friday's rehab outing with Triple-A Memphis, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
As the designated hitter Friday, Herrera went 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI and one walk. Marmol noted that Herrera will start behind home plate soon, and a return to the majors will hinge on the 24-year-old's ability to start at catcher on back-to-back days. Before landing on the injured list June 22 with lower-back tightness, Herrera was slashing .279/.340/.378 with three home runs and 19 RBI over 191 major-league plate appearances.
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Miguel Amaya C | CHC
Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Getting extended time off
Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday that the Cubs are giving Amaya extra time off to work through his struggles at the plate, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Amaya is slashing .186/.249/.256 with two home runs and 15 RBI this season, but since June 1 those numbers have dipped to .167/.231/.200. Tomas Nido is starting behind home plate Saturday, and he figures to see more full-time work moving forward while Amaya works on things offensively.