MLB Player News

Leon was removed in the fourth inning of Monday's game against the Guardians with right knee inflammation, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Leon struck out in his lone at-bat before departing for the contest. Caleb Hamilton came off the bench to replace Leon, the Twins' No. 2 catcher who had received the start with top backstop Gary Sanchez getting a maintenance day.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Phillies.

He's recorded a hit in each of his last four games, going 7-for-16 altogether to bring his batting average up to .278 for the season. Contreras looks to have taken back control of a spot in the everyday lineup from Marcell Ozuna, who is on the bench for Monday's series opener with the Nationals. Meanwhile, Contreras will serve as Atlanta's designated hitter and No. 7 hitter, marking his fifth consecutive start.

Stallings has a day off Monday versus the Cubs.

It appears to be a regular day of rest for Stallings, who caught Sandy Alcantara's complete game Sunday. The 32-year-old has a respectable .785 OPS in his last 10 games.

Bethancourt went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Rangers.

Filling in behind the dish for a resting Francisco Mejia, Bethancourt came up big on offense, with his two extra-base knocks matching his output from his previous seven contests combined. For his efforts, Bethancourt will be rewarded with another start at catcher in Monday's series opener with the Astros, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Bethancourt is batting eighth Monday.

Mejia is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia will take a seat for the second game in a row while Christian Bethancourt continues to push him for playing time at catcher. Since Mejia returned from a stint on the injured list Aug. 5, he's started 22 games behind the plate compared to Bethancourt's 19.

Stassi is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mariners, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

After a recent string of three consecutive starts behind the dish, Stassi will sit for the second straight game while Matt Thaiss handles catching duties. Stassi still looks to be Option 1A for the Angels, but his major downturn in performance in 2022 could result in Thaiss becoming part of a timeshare at the position. After posting a .752 OPS last season, the 31-year-old Stassi is slashing .179/.267/.297 over his 352 plate appearances in 2022.

Raleigh is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.

Though the Mariners haven't indicated as much, Raleigh is believed to still be nursing the jammed left thumb that kept him out of the lineup for Friday's 8-7 win over the Angels, according to Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM. Raleigh returned to action Saturday, but he'll now be on the bench Monday for a second consecutive game. Curt Casali gets another turn behind the dish while Raleigh sits out.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.

Sanchez closed out the weekend by making two straight starts behind the dish, so he'll sit Monday while the Twins' series in Cleveland concludes with a day game. Sandy Leon will serve as the Twins' starting catcher Monday.

Hedges is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Cleveland is wrapping up its five-game wraparound series with the Twins with a day game Monday, so Hedges will get a breather after he caught eight innings of Sunday's 3-0 loss. Luke Maile checks in behind the dish, forming a battery with starting pitcher Cal Quantrill.

Maldonado went 4-for-4 with a home run, four runs and four RBI during Sunday's 11-2 win over the Athletics.

Maldonado was out of the lineup for three of the four games leading up to Sunday's matchup, but he helped drive the Astros' offense to the blowout win in the series finale against Oakland. In spite of Sunday's encouraging performance, the 36-year-old has been relatively quiet since the start of September, hitting .233 with a home run, six RBI, five runs, a walk and seven strikeouts over 10 games.