MLB Player News

Alvarez (head) is starting at catcher and batting ninth Friday versus Atlanta, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Alvarez was lifted from Thursday's series finale against the Nationals after getting hit in the head by a couple of swings, but he checked out fine after the game and will make a second straight start behind the plate for the Mets. Tomas Nido is on the bench.

Stallings is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Cubs, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Stallings will take a seat as the Marlins elect to have Nick Fortes catch for Jesus Luzardo. Stallings has gone 0-for-10 over his last three starts, so he'll hope the day off will help him get right at the plate.

Murphy, who played for the first time since last Friday in Thursday's loss to the Phillies and went 2-for-3 with a double, has logged only 29 plate appearances and appeared in nine of the Mariners' first 25 games.

The veteran is healthy after appearing in just 14 games in 2022 due to a shoulder injury, but he's seen Cal Raleigh draw 20 starts overall, with 19 of those coming behind the dish. That's left few opportunities for Murphy, and his timing at the plate unsurprisingly seems to be suffering. Even factoring in his first multi-hit effort of the season Thursday, Murphy is slashing just .138/.138/.207.

Wong will sit Friday against the Guardians, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Wong will get a breather after he went 1-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and three strikeouts over two starts during a three-game series with the Orioles. Reese McGuire will take over behind the plate and bat eighth in the series opener with Cleveland.

Perez (back) has returned to the Royals' lineup for Friday's game in Minnesota, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Perez is ready to go after missing two games when he took a fastball off the back during Tuesday's game versus the Diamondbacks. He's catching and batting third against Pablo Lopez.

Fermin was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

After being called up one week ago, Fermin went 1-for-7 at the plate with two strikeouts while making two starts at catcher for the Royals. With Salvador Perez (back) expected to be available Friday, there is no longer a need for Fermin on the big-league roster. Nick Pratto was called up from Omaha to replace him.

Smith (concussion) is expected to be activated from the injured list ahead of the Dodgers' game against the Cardinals on Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Manager Dave Roberts had said earlier this week that the catcher probably wouldn't be back until at least Saturday, but now the skipper says Smith will be in Friday's lineup at designated hitter as long as he is cleared and gets through live batting practice with no issues. Part of the reasoning for bringing him back a day earlier is that J.D. Martinez (back) is still banged up. Smith hasn't played since April 12 due to a concussion but has been symptom free for about a week.

Barnes went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Thursday's loss against the Pirates.

Barnes led off the fifth inning with a base hit before swiping his second bag of the year, matching his total from all of last season. The 33-year-old catcher has been the Dodgers' primary option behind the plate with Will Smith (concussion) sidelined. While Barnes can run a bit better than a typical catcher, he hasn't offered much with the bat, going just 3-for-38 with no extra-base hits to start the year.

Trevino went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 4-2 victory over the Rangers.

Trevino pulled a homer to left in the ninth inning, giving the Yankees an insurance run before Michael King closed out the game. The former Ranger is slashing .250/.276/.393 through 16 games played so far this year as the team's primary catcher, while Thursday was his second multi-hit output of the season.

Langeliers went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in a loss to the Angels on Thursday.

Langeliers hit one of two Oakland homers in the fourth inning, taking Shohei Ohtani deep with a 414-foot, two-run shot to center field. The long ball was the third in five games for the backstop, and he's knocked in five runs over that span. Langeliers' hot stretch has moved him into a tie for first in the majors among catchers with six homers on the season.