MLB Player News

Smith was removed from Wednesday's game against the Padres with a sore neck, Alanna Rizzo of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

The 25-year-old went 0-for-1 before exiting during the fifth inning, and the severity of the injury remains unclear. Austin Barnes took over behind the plate and will start Thursday's contest, while Smith is considered day-to-day, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

Contreras was ejected from Wednesday's game against the Indians during the fifth inning, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

The 28-year-old was unhappy with a check-swing call during his third at-bat and was subsequently tossed from the contest. Contreras went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts prior to exiting. Backup catcher Victor Caratini took over behind the plate, but since he was already serving as the designated hitter, the Cubs lose the extra bat for the remainder of game.

Tromp will not start Wednesday against the Astros, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Tromp appears to have taken over the starting catcher role for the Giants, as he'd started five out of six games heading into Wednesday's contest. Tyler Heineman takes over for him in this one.

Smith is not starting Tuesday against the Padres.

Austin Barnes will start behind the plate Tuesday. Smith still has the slight edge in starts this season, catching 10 games compared to eight for Barnes.

Mejia remains on the bench Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Mejia and Austin Hedges, who gets the call behind the plate Tuesday, have now each been in the lineup nine times in the season's first 18 games. Mejia has just a .429 OPS this season, though that's still better than Hedges' .375 mark.

Narvaez is not starting Tuesday against the Twins.

Narvaez is the clear starting catcher in Milwaukee, though he hasn't seen a particularly heavy workload. He's started nine times behind the plate this season, while Manny Pina, who starts Tuesday, has gotten the nod six times.

Barnhart will sit Tuesday against the Royals.

Barnhart finds himself on the bench for the third time in the last four games, with Curt Casali again starting behind the plate. Barnhart has hit just .167/.200/.167 through his first 25 plate appearances.

Gomes went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI in Monday's 16-4 rout of the Mets.

It's been a sluggish start to the season for Gomes -- the hits, runs and RBI were all his first in four games -- but like many Nats hitters, his bat woke up at the start of the team's road trip. If the 33-year-old can put together another good performance or two, he could cut into Kurt Suzuki's playing time behind the plate.

Hedges went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Monday's win over the Dodgers.

Hedges has been sharing the playing time at catcher with Francisco Mejia, and Hedges hasn't done enough offensively to become the team's primary backstop -- he has only hit .125 in 26 at-bats.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 13-8 loss to the Phillies.

D'Arnaud has hit safely in all but one game this season, with six of his hits going for extra bases (four doubles, two homers). The former Met found new life with the Rays down the stretch last year, and while his track record suggests this could all come crashing down at any second, d'Arnaud is running hot at the moment and has the clear playing-time edge behind the plate in Atlanta.