MLB Player News

Reds manager David Bell said Stephenson (thumb) will play two more games during his rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville before returning from the 10-day injured list, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Stephenson is expected to start at catcher in one of the games and designated hitter in the other, though it's unclear if the Reds plan on having him play both of the next two days or if he'll get a day off in between. Regardless, Stephenson looks like he should be back in action for the Reds no later than Sunday, assuming he experiences no setbacks with his fractured right thumb. Once reinstated from the IL, Stephenson will take over as the Reds' No. 1 catcher, pushing Aramis Garcia back into a reserve role.

Perez will sit in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Reds.

Perez will get a breather after he went 0-for-6 with a strikeout in the final two games of the series against the Yankees. Jason Delay will get the start behind the plate and bat ninth in Thursday's matinee.

Higashioka went 2-for-5 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 16-0 win over the Pirates.

Higashioka homered in the seventh inning, bringing New York's lead to 5-0. He came around to score in the next inning on Aaron Judge's grand slam, then knocked in Josh Donaldson for the final score of the game in the ninth inning. This was the catcher's second appearance in July. He picked up his first hits since June 21. Higashioka raised his batting average 10 points thanks to the two-hit performance, taking it to .174 on the year.

Barnhart went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Guardians.

Barnhart has seen Eric Haase get more playing time lately, as the latter has five home runs over his last 12 games. Barnhart hasn't helped his cause with a .154 batting average over his past 10 contests, but he does now have hits in three straight games. The veteran should still see plenty of playing time due to his abilities behind the plate, though Haase will continue to draw starts due to his power potential.

Wynns is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game at Arizona, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Wynns is poised to see more playing time with Curt Casali sidelined by an oblique injury, but it's Joey Bart who will start after being promoted earlier Wednesday.

Bart was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and will be in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

The 25-year-old is up with the Giants in the wake of Curt Casali's oblique injury, which is expected to carry a 3-to-4 week recovery timeframe. Bart posted a .596 OPS in 22 games before being demoted to the minors and should work as the No. 2 catcher to Austin Wynns.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

Diaz started the past four games and will receive a maintenance day for the series finale in Los Angeles. Brian Serven will work behind the plate in his place.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA reports.

Smith started the past seven games and will receive a maintenance day for Wednesday's series finale versus Colorado. Austin Barnes will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.

Trevino isn't starting Wednesday against Pittsburgh.

Trevino is getting a chance to reset after he went 0-for-7 with two strikeouts over the last two matchups. Kyle Higashioka will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Plawecki will stick on the bench for the 14th time in 16 games and continues to see little usage, even by the standards of No. 2 catchers. So long as top backstop Christian Vazquez remains healthy, he'll shoulder a heavy workload behind the plate.