MLB Player News

Bart (groin) is starting behind the plate and batting eighth Sunday against the Padres, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Bart has been sidelined by a groin issue since April 24, but he'll return to action for Sunday's series finale versus the Friars in Mexico City. The 26-year-old is still looking for his first home run and RBI of the season but has a .303/.378/.364 slash line through 37 plate appearances.

Thaiss will start at catcher and bat sixth Sunday against the Brewers.

Thaiss is back in the lineup after sitting in each of the Angels' last three games, with two of the lefty-hitting catcher's absences coming against southpaws and one coming versus right-hander Corbin Burnes. Though Thaiss will draw back into the starting nine for the series finale in Milwaukee, the fact that the righty-hitting Chad Wallach drew the start against Burnes on Saturday suggests that Thaiss may not even be viewed as a strong-side platoon option at the position while the Angels are without both Max Stassi (hip) and Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder).

Wallach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

Though he'll take a seat in the series finale, Wallach may have at least temporarily eclipsed Matt Thaiss on the Angels' depth chart at catcher. Wallach started each of the past three games, though he reached base just two times in 10 trips to the plate.

Gomes is starting at catcher and batting ninth in Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Tucker Barnhart started behind the plate Saturday, but Gomes will bookend the series with starts on Friday and Sunday. Gomes has an .881 OPS so far while Barnhart is at just .442, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the former continue to earn a larger share of playing time moving forward.

Trevino is out of the starting lineup against the Rangers on Sunday.

Trevino will sit for the second time in four games against his former club. The veteran backstop gets a day of rest for the series finale against Texas with Kyle Higashioka handling backstop duties and hitting eighth.

Rogers will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Rogers will step in behind the dish for the fourth time in six games and may have supplanted Eric Haase as the Tigers' preferred option at catcher. In addition to holding a nearly 100-point advantage over Haase in OPS this season (.713 to .621), Rogers is regarded as the superior defender of the two.

Heineman was traded from the Pirates to the Blue Jays on Sunday in exchange for Vinny Capra.

Heineman was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on Wednesday, and Toronto opted to trade for him rather than risk a waiver claim. He should head to Triple-A Buffalo to serve as organizational catching depth.

Fortes will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Cubs, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Fortes is behind the dish for the sixth time in nine games and appears to have overtaken the struggling Jacob Stallings as the Marlins' preferred option at catcher. Though he's taken a major step back from last season in the early stages of 2023 with a .188/.250/.250 slash line over 52 plate appearances, Fortes' .500 OPS is still notably better than Stallings' .429 mark.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Now on the bench for the fourth time in six games and the sixth time in the past nine contests, Stallings appears to have slipped to No. 2 on the depth chart at catcher behind Nick Fortes. Though he continues to grade out adequately on the defensive end, Stallings has become an even greater liability with the bat, as he enters Sunday's contest with a lowly .136/.224/.205 slash line and career-worst 28.6 percent strikeout rate over 49 plate appearances.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Barnhart had drawn starts behind the dish on the last two occasions the Cubs opposed right-handed starting pitchers, but he'll take a seat Sunday against Marlins righty Bryan Hoeing, perhaps because the two teams are facing a quick turnaround for the series finale, which starts at 12:05 p.m. ET. Yan Gomes will catch for starting pitcher Justin Steele on Sunday.