MLB Player News

Hedges is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's contest against the Diamondbacks.

Hedges will get a breather against Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks for Sunday's series finale. Jason Delay is starting behind the plate in Hedges' absence and will hit ninth.

Bethancourt is not in the starting lineup Sunday versus the Brewers, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt will get a day off after he went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a strikeout in Saturday's victory. Francisco Mejia will take over behind the plate and bat ninth in the series finale with Milwaukee.

Ruiz is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's tilt against the Tigers, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Ruiz will get a day of rest with Riley Adams hitting ninth and starting behind the plate. In the month of May, Ruiz has hit .167/.227/.317 with a pair of homers and eight RBI over 60 at-bats.

Gomes is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Phillies.

Gomes will take a seat after he went 3-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored over the first two games of the series. Tucker Barnhart will take over at catcher and bat ninth in the series finale with Philadelphia.

Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's finale against Seattle, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy went 3-for-8 with a run scored over the first two games of the series against Seattle, bit the backstop will get a day off against George Kirby and the Mariners for the finale. Travis d'Arnaud gets the start behind the plate and is hitting cleanup.

Stephenson is not in the starting lineup Sunday versus the Yankees.

Stephenson will take a seat after he went 0-for-7 with three punchouts over the first two games of the series. Luke Maile will take over behind the plate and bat ninth in the series finale with New York.

Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Brewers.

Bethancourt was one of three Rays to take Eric Lauer deep Saturday, with his solo shot coming in the fourth inning. He now has seven long balls on the season, three of which have come in his last 15 games. Bethancourt has had an all-or-nothing profile in 106 plate appearances on the campaign, as he has a .267 on-base percentage but a .273 ISO.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Dodgers.

Contreras has gone 5-for-24 (.208) with two homers, seven RBI and two steals in six games since he returned to being the primary catcher. He's now slashing .250/.333/.415 with four steals, five homers, 26 RBI and 21 runs scored through 45 contests this year. He's hit well enough to maintain a spot in the middle of the order.

Plawecki signed a minor-league contract with the Padres on Saturday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Plawecki opted out of his minor-league contract with the Nationals on Tuesday, and it didn't take the veteran backstop long to find a new club. Plawecki will need to be added to the 40-man roster to help the Padres in 2023, but a strong showing in the Pacific Coast League could lead to him earning reps with San Diego before the campaign comes to a conclusion.

Smith will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Cardinals, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Smith has delivered his typically excellent performance at the plate this season, slashing .314/.406/.571 with seven homers in 28 games. He'll get a rest Saturday with Austin Barnes taking over behind the plate.