MLB Player News

Grandal is not in the White Sox' lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Giants.

Grandal will get some rest after catching three straight and five of the first six games this season. Seby Zavala will catch Lance Lynn.

O'Hoppe went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 4-3 win over Seattle on Wednesday.

O'Hoppe's lone hit of the game was a big one, as his two-run homer in the second inning gave the Angels a lead that they did not relinquish. The rookie catcher has gone deep twice in his past three games, displaying the type of power that helped him hit 26 homers in the minors last season. Max Stassi (hip) could return from the injured list in less than 10 days, but O'Hoppe's strong start to the campaign may help him remain the team's primary backstop even when that happens.

Alvarez is headed to New York to join the Mets in the event he is needed on the active roster, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.

Omar Narvaez exited Wednesday's game in Milwaukee with a calf injury and will be evaluated by team doctors when the team arrives in New York. If he needs to go on the injured list, Alvarez will be the one to replace him. The young catcher is 3-for-12 with a home run and a double in the early going at Triple-A Syracuse. If he's added to the Mets' roster, Alvarez would likely share time with Tomas Nido behind the plate and perhaps see some starts at designated hitter while Narvaez is out. He's worth scooping up in certain fantasy leagues, but keep in mind he might only be DH-eligible initially.

Narvaez was removed late in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to Milwaukee with a left calf injury, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. He went 1-for-4 with a base hit prior to departing the game.

Narvaez felt something in the calf during his last plate appearance and was taken out in the final frame. He'll be examined but is being referred to as day-to-day for now. If Narvaez winds up having to miss some time, it could clear the way for a Francisco Alvarez promotion.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a run-scoring double in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Rockies.

Smith left the yard for the third game in a row and appears to have settled in just fine after moving up to the No. 3 spot in the order in 2023 after primarily batting cleanup last season. He's recorded at least one hit while starting in five of the Dodgers' first six games and is tied for the MLB lead in RBI with 10.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI in Tuesday's 11-2 win over the Angels.

Raleigh was one of six Mariners batters who finished the night with exactly two hits as the team put an end to a four-game losing streak. After leading all catchers in baseball with 27 home runs in 2022, Raleigh has yet to leave the yard through the first six games of the season, but his power hasn't completely gone missing. He's already accrued three doubles, and he's also done well to limit his punchouts early on (three in 18 plate appearances) after striking out at a 29.4 percent clip a season ago.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.

Maldonado is presumably just getting some routine maintenance after he started behind the plate each of the past three days. Cesar Salazar will pick up his first MLB start in Wednesday's series finale, batting ninth while catching for starting pitcher Cristian Javier.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Contreras gets the day game off with Andrew Knizner getting the start behind the dish and hitting ninth. The veteran backstop had an injury scare early in the campaign, but he has picked up six hits in his first 17 at-bats as a member of the Cardinals.

Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Atlanta's series finale with the Cardinals on Wednesday, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy will head back to the bench after he went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and two strikeouts in Tuesday's victory. The 28-year-old has now started only three out of six games to open the season after signing a lucrative deal with Atlanta in the offseason. Travis d'Arnaud will draw the start behind the plate and bat fourth against St. Louis.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Cardinals.

Atlanta manager Brian Snikter has had little choice but to make d'Arnaud an everyday player in the early going, as the veteran catcher has hits in five straight games while batting .455 (10-for-22) with three doubles, three runs and four RBI. The 34-year-old will need some rest eventually, whether he cools down at the plate or not, but he's started three of his five games at DH so far and should see consistent playing time at the position even as Sean Murphy handles the majority of the starts behind the plate.