MLB Player News

Barnes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Barnes had started the past three games in place of Will Smith (neck), who has since been placed on the 10-day injured list. Though Keibert Ruiz will step in to replace him behind the dish in the series finale, Barnes should still see the lion's share of the starts at catcher while Smith is sidelined. Barnes is slashing an underwhelming .250/.286/.350 on the season, but he's been running hot at the plate lately, going 8-for-18 with a home run and a double over his past five games.

Tromp is not in Sunday's lineup against the Athletics.

He is hitting .200 with two home runs, 10 strikeouts and one walk in 30 at-bats this month. Tyler Heineman will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Narvaez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Cubs.

The lefty-hitting backstop will head to the bench with southpaw Jon Lester on the hill for Chicago. Manny Pina will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Caratini is not in Sunday's lineup against the Brewers.

He is hitting .304/.333/.348 in 23 at-bats this month. Kyle Schwarber will start at designated hitter while Steven Souza gets the start in left field.

D'Arnaud is not in Sunday's lineup against the Marlins, 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

He is hitting .293 with three home runs and a 13:0 K:BB in 10 games this month. Tyler Flowers will get the start behind the dish, hitting seventh.

Ruiz was called up for the first time by the Dodgers on Saturday.

Ruiz would be the catcher of the future in many organizations, though the presence of Will Smith, who landed on the injured list with neck inflammation in a corresponding move, prevents him from holding that title for the Dodgers. Still, he's a talented prospect, with strong contact ability offsetting a lack of power and a future as a roughly average defender. Just 22 years old, Ruiz is quite young for a catcher, and he didn't dominate the upper minors last season, hitting just .261/.331/.347 in 85 games in Double-A and Triple-A, so expectations should probably be muted for him this year.

Smith was placed on the injured list with neck inflammation Saturday.

The move was made retroactive to Thursday, so Smith could return as soon as Aug. 23, though it's unclear whether or not he's expected to do so. Keibert Ruiz was called up in a corresponding move and will split time with Austin Barnes until Smith returns.

Smith (neck) isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Angels.

Smith currently remains day-to-day, but a trip to the injured list hasn't been ruled out yet. As he sits for his third consecutive game, Austin Barnes will take over behind the plate.

Alvarez was added Saturday to the team's player pool and assigned to the Mets' alternate training site, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Although listed as a catcher, Alvarez has the potential to line up at any position on the field for the Mets. He has good pop in his bat but needs to work on his defense. He joins fellow top prospects Andres Gimenez and Matthew Allan at the team's training site, although a callup to the big-league roster is not imminent.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a solo home run as the Braves fell to the Marlins 8-2 on Friday.

D'Arnaud continued his impressive run at the plate with his third multi-hit performance in five games. The 31-year-old has a hit in 10 of the 11 games he's played in this season. Despite his consistent production, d'Arnaud will still give way to Tyler Flowers behind the plate every couple of games.