MLB Player News

Grandal (back) is starting behind the plate for the White Sox in Thursday's game against the Rays.

Grandal missed Wednesday's game with back spasms, but it wound up being just a one-day absence. The veteran catcher will bat fifth against Rays southpaw Shane McClanahan.

Perez is not in the Royals' lineup for Thursday's game in Minnesota.

Perez was also on the bench Wednesday, although there's no indication to this point that he's dealing with an injury. Perhaps the Royals will offer an explanation prior to first pitch. MJ Melendez will do the catching Thursday.

Alvarez is starting at catcher and batting ninth Thursday against the Nationals.

Alvarez is just 5-for-31 (.161) with one home run in 31 plate appearances since his April 7 promotion from Triple-A Syracuse, but he is at least drawing more starts now over Tomas Nido. The 21-year-old has been in the Mets' lineup three of the last four games, including Thursday night's series finale versus Washington.

Contreras is not in the starting lineup Thursday at San Francisco.

This would appear to be a routine breather for Contreras as the Cardinals wrap up a four-game set at Oracle Park. He started the previous 10 games, with eight of those starts coming behind the plate. Andrew Knizner is catching and batting eighth Thursday. Nolan Gorman is serving as the designated hitter and hitting third.

Bart (groin) remains out of the lineup Thursday against the Cardinals.

It's the third straight absence for Bart as he works through a bout of right groin tightness. Blake Sabol is catching and batting seventh for the Giants on Thursday afternoon.

Rodriguez (forearm) is expected to return at designated hitter for Triple-A Indianapolis within the next week, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Rodriguez landed on the minor-league injured list last Friday after being diagnosed with a right forearm strain, but it thankfully seems to be a relatively minor injury. The 22-year-old catcher ranks as one of the top prospects at his position and could make his MLB debut later this season if his health cooperates.

O'Hoppe (shoulder) underwent surgery Tuesday and said he hopes to be able to return on the early end of his 4-to-6-month timeframe, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

O'Hoppe was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder last week. The rookie catcher was off to a strong start before the injury, slashing .283/.339/.547 with four homers and 13 RBI over 59 plate appearances. O'Hoppe has a chance to return late this season, but he's a tough hold in redraft leagues given his lengthy recovery period.

Stephenson went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

Stephenson scored the first run in Wednesday's contest, doubling to lead off the second inning before coming around on a Henry Ramos triple. Stephenson, who served as Cincinnati's DH in the win, has gone 9-for-26 with three doubles in his last eight contests. The 26-year-old catcher has yet to homer this year, though he's still slashing .286/.381/.345 with 10 runs and 10 RBI through 97 plate appearances. While Stephenson is the Reds' primary catcher, he should continue to see a fair amount of time at DH and first base in an attempt to ensure he stays healthy following an injury-hampered 2022 campaign.

Raleigh is absent from the Mariners' lineup for Thursday's game in Philadelphia, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.

It's a day game after a night game, so Raleigh will get some rest after making four consecutive starts. Tom Murphy will catch George Kirby.

Realmuto is not in the Phillies' lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

It's a day game after a night game, so Realmuto will get some well-deserved rest after starting the previous seven contests. Garrett Stubbs will catch Matt Strahm.