MLB Player News

Sullivan is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Sullivan appears to have at least moved into a timeshare at catcher with Austin Nola, who is behind the dish Sunday. Sullivan owns a putrid .495 OPS on the season, but that's still more than 60 points better than the mark Nola has provided (.443) over 69 more plate appearances.

Ruiz is out of the lineup Sunday versus the Royals.

Ruiz will retreat to the bench after going 1-for-8 with an RBI and a run scored over the first two games of the series with Kansas City. Riley Adams will get the start behind the plate and hit ninth Sunday while Ruiz rests.

Langeliers went 2-for-4 with a two-run single and a double in a loss to the Astros on Saturday.

Langeliers had the only multi-hit effort of the night for Oakland and drove in the final two runs of the game with his eighth-inning single. Like several of his teammates, Langeliers had been mired in a serious funk coming into Saturday, as he was just 1-for-21 over the previous six games and had seen a 23-point drop in batting average over the last nine contests overall. Despite the struggles, Langeliers' standing as the everyday catcher doesn't appear to be in any jeopardy, especially with veteran Manny Pina (wrist) still sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Contreras has struggled mightily at the plate as of late, as he hasn't picked up a hit since May 20. He'll get a chance to rest against Cleveland on Sunday with Andrew Knizner handling catching duties and hitting ninth.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Phillies.

He spoiled Philly's shutout bid in the ninth inning by taking Craig Kimbrel deep. Murphy extended his hit streak to eight games in the process, a stretch in which the backstop is batting .323 (10-for-31) with two of his 11 homers on the season.

Haase will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Though Haase owns an unremarkable .640 OPS on the season, he's still offering more offensive production of late than Jake Rogers, who is slashing .093/.152/.279 thus far in May. Rogers appeared to overtake Haase as the Tigers' preferred catcher earlier this spring on the basis of his superior defense and his hot start to the season at the plate, but Rogers has started to lose playing time while his bat has cooled. Haase will start behind the plate for the fourth time in five games while Rogers takes a seat once again.

Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Bethancourt was behind the plate for both of the past two games, so it's not surprising that he'll get a breather Sunday while the series finale with the Dodgers begins at 11:35 a.m. ET. Francisco Mejia will start at catcher and form a battery with starting pitcher Josh Fleming.

Rogers is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's tilt against the White Sox.

Rogers' average dropped to .156 after another hitless effort in Saturday's 7-3 win, and he's registered just a .431 OPS in his 43 plate appearances in May. Now on the bench for the fourth time in five games, Rogers seems to have ceded primary catching duties to Eric Haase.

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.

With Sunday's game beginning at 11:35 a.m. ET, Smith will get a well-deserved breather after he had started behind the plate in each of the Dodgers' last six games. Austin Barnes will step in at catcher, forming a battery with starting pitcher Gavin Stone.

Heim went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 5-3 win over Baltimore.

Heim returned to the lineup following a two-day respite. The catcher entered Saturday's game in a 1-for-23 stretch, but the time off appears to be what was needed. He fell off in the second half of 2022 after a strong start, and the Rangers are expected to take steps to prevent a similar situation this season.