MLB Player News

Diaz's contract was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Diaz has been productive at Sugar Land this season but has been particularly dominant at the plate over the last two weeks. He's put together eight multi-hit performances over the last 12 games and has slashed .393/.443/.661 with four home runs, three doubles, 17 runs and 14 RBI over that stretch. The 23-year-old will provide catching depth for the Astros, but he also has experience at first base and the corner-outfield spots.

Sands was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

The 26-year-old catcher will make his first appearance in the big leagues as rosters expand to 28 players in September. He's slashed .308/.413/.428 in Triple-A this season and figures to serve as depth behind the plate for Philadelphia.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rockies.

After a recent three-game absence due to soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, Ronald Acuna has been eased back into the lineup the last two days as Atlanta's designated hitter. As a result, Atlanta won't have room in the starting nine for both Contreras and Travis d'Arnaud, who gets the nod behind the plate Thursday. Contreras caught in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Colorado while d'Arnaud sat out, finishing with two base hits in three at-bats to lift his season-long average to .272.

The Red Sox recalled Wong from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

Wong becomes the Red Sox's third catcher on the 28-man active roster, joining Reese McGuire and Kevin Plawecki. With neither of the other two backstops having established himself as Boston's clear No. 1 catcher, it wouldn't be surprising if Wong received an extended look at some point while the team remains out of contention for a playoff spot. Wong produced an .832 OPS over his 355 plate appearances at Worcester.

The Mets announced Thursday that Alvarez has been diagnosed with a loose body in his right ankle but won't need surgery to address the injury, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez, who hasn't played for Triple-A Syracuse since Aug. 23, will instead receive a pain-killing injection in the ankle with the hope of resuming baseball activities in 3-to-4 days. If the injection yields the desired effect and Alvarez responds well to workouts, he could slot back into the Triple-A lineup by mid-September. The time that Alvarez has missed in addition to his lackluster numbers at Syracuse since receiving a promotion from Double-A Binghamton in early July makes it unlikely that he'll get the call up to the Mets before the end of the season, even though the big club has received little production from catchers James McCann and Tomas Nido.

McGuire isn't starting Thursday against the Rangers, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

McGuire has recorded hits in each of his last five games but will head to the bench for a second consecutive matchup. Kevin Plawecki is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.

Nido is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The playing time at catcher has tilted in favor of James McCann lately, with Nido having now sat in three of the past four games. Even if Nido re-emerges as the preferred backstop for the Mets, he's unlikely to provide much of an imprint in fantasy leagues, given that he's hitting .222 with no home runs or stolen bases in 252 plate appearances on the campaign.

The Nationals recalled Barrera from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The addition of Barrera gives the Nationals a third catcher, which will perhaps allow the team to build in more rest days for No. 1 backstop Keibert Ruiz while allowing Riley Adams to pick up some work as a designated hitter. Barrera appeared in 14 games for Washington earlier in 2022, batting .182 with four RBI and two runs.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The Nationals and Athletics are wrapping up their series with a day game, so Ruiz will get a breather after starting the past two nights. Ruiz is entrenched as Washington's No. 1 backstop, but he could still receive more rest days down the stretch with the Nationals having added a third catcher in Tres Barrera to the roster as one of their September call-ups.

Perez (back) will start at catcher and bat third in Thursday's game against the White Sox, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Perez was scratched from the lineup ahead of Wednesday's 4-2 loss due to back tightness, but he apparently showed enough improvement overnight to step back in behind the dish for the series finale. He'll enter Thursday's contest riding a seven-game hit streak, during which he's slashed .448/.467.690 with two home runs, nine RBI and five runs.