MLB Player News

Smith (oblique) was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, retroactive to June 26, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

With an OPS north of 1.000 with Oklahoma City and three homers in his small MLB sample (29 plate appearances), Smith has surpassed fellow Dodgers catching prospect Keibert Ruiz in the minds of many evaluators, and some even felt he would be an upgrade over Austin Barnes as the starter in Los Angeles. However, Smith's stellar season has been interrupted by a strained right oblique muscle and there is currently no timetable for his return.

Contreras went 3-for-5 with a double, two-run home run and three RBI on Thursday against the Pirates.

Contreras delivered his 18th home run of the season in the third inning, taking Jordan Lyles deep. He collected his third RBI of the contest on a groundout in sixth inning, putting the Cubs up 10-3. It was the second consecutive multi-hit effort for Contreras, and he's now hitting .294/.386/.571 across 293 plate appearances for the season.

Mejia remains on the bench Thursday against the Dodgers.

Mejia owns an .861 OPS in 11 games since returning from the minors, dragging his season mark up to .615. Austin Hedges and his .557 OPS will start behind the plate Thursday.

Barnes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Padres.

Barnes went 2-for-7 with a double in the last two games but will head to the bench for the series opener. Russell Martin will start behind the plate and bat eighth Thursday.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Pirates.

Contreras finished June in an 0-for-12 slump, but after getting a day off Monday, he's responded with a 3-for-8 start to July. The All-Star catcher is having a strong season with a .287/.382/.555 slash line.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins.

Gomes will be getting a routine breather with the Marlins and Nationals beginning their Fourth of July game bright and early at 11:05 a.m. EDT. No. 2 backstop Kurt Suzuki will check in behind the plate after Gomes started the previous two days.

Caratini went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in a 6-5 loss against the Pirates on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old doubled his home-run total with this performance, as he came into the night with two round trippers this year. His four homers this season represent a career high. The backup catcher is batting .298 with 11 extra-base hits overall, 16 RBI and 14 runs in 84 at-bats this season.

Mejia is not starting Wednesday against the Giants.

Mejia has hit .290/.371/.516 in 10 games since returning to the big leagues. Austin Hedges will start behind the plate in his absence.

Grandal is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Reds.

Grandal has just two hits in his last seven games. Manny Pina gets the nod behind the plate in his absence.

Diaz remains on the bench Wednesday against the Cubs.

Diaz sits for the second straight game. Jacob Stallings remains in the lineup behind the plate.