MLB Player News

Smith has been sent back down to Triple-A Oklahoma City, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Smith was called back up June 23 and cranked a pinch-hit walk-off home run in one of his five at-bats, but it will be a short stint as he'll head back to Oklahoma City as the corresponding roster move for the callup of Tony Gonsolin. Per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register, manager Dave Roberts said sending Smith down "was a tough one" but that the 24-year-old needs regular at-bats that he wouldn't be able to get with the big club. Overall, Smith has slashed .269/.345/.654 in 26 big-league at-bats this season.

Barnes is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Barnes will sit after starting the past three games and going 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. In his place, Russell Martin is starting behind the dish and hitting eighth.

Mejia will serve as the Padres' designated hitter and will bat sixth Wednesday against the Orioles.

Mejia caught all nine innings of Tuesday's 8-3 win, reaching base three times on the night while slugging a solo home run. Thanks to the DH spot being available in Baltimore, Mejia will stick in the lineup for the day game after the night game, marking his sixth start in seven contests. The Padres seem content to roll with Mejia as their primary option behind the plate while he sports a hot bat.

Grandal went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Tuesday against the Mariners.

Grandal led off for the third time in as many starts, responding with his second homer in that span. He now has 18 long balls on the season, putting him on pace to well outdo his career-best mark of 27 in a campaign. He's maintaining a .272/.380/.549 line across 297 plate appearances, and could see a big spike in runs scored if he continues to stick in the leadoff spot.

Gomes is not starting Tuesday against Miami.

Gomes sits for the fourth time in the last six games. Kurt Suzuki gets the start behind the plate in his absence.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Monday's 8-3 win over the Braves.

Contreras' second-inning solo shot -- his 16th of the season -- didn't come without drama. His counterpart at catcher, Tyler Flowers, took offense to Contreras' celebration, resulting in a dugout-clearing incident after the two catchers exchanged words when Contreras crossed home plate. The verbal spat fortunately didn't result in an ejection for Contreras, who plated two more runs to give him 45 RBI on the season, tying him for second place among all catchers in the majors. He'll be back behind the dish for the second game of the series Tuesday.

Nido went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Cubs.

The 25-year-old backup to Wilson Ramos has seen an uptick in his playing time recently, starting four of the last eight games, but Nido's .227/.250/.379 slash line on the year with three homers and seven RBI still doesn't make him much of a fantasy asset. It would likely take a Ramos injury to get Nido on the radar in most formats.

Smith hit a walkoff three-run home run as a pinch hitter against the Rockies on Sunday.

On the day he got called back up to the majors to take the roster spot of David Freese (hamstring), Smith made history by taking Scott Oberg deep in the ninth inning for the Dodgers' third consecutive game with a walkoff home run by a rookie. The 24-year-old has made quite an impression at the plate in his 22 at-bats this season, slashing .318/.375/.773 with three home runs -- two of which have been walkoffs.

Hedges went 3-for-6 with two doubles, three RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in Sunday's extra-innings loss to the Pirates.

Hedges took advantage of his first start in the past five games, lacing a run-scoring double in the fourth inning before adding a two-RBI single and a stolen base -- his first of the season -- in the 11th. Even after Sunday's multi-hit performance, Hedges is hitting just .195 with a .629 OPS through 52 games this season.

Smith has been called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers placed David Freese (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list Sunday, clearing the way for Smith to get called up for a second stint with the big club this season. He was impressive in his first major-league action, slashing .286/.348/.619 with a pair of homers in 21 at-bats. He continued to mash in Triple-A after getting sent down June 6, so the 24-year-old will look to keep it rolling at the dish.