MLB Player News

The Twins scratched Jeffers from the lineup ahead of Sunday's game against the White Sox due to a left knee contusion, Megan Ryan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Though Jeffers is available off the bench, the Twins will likely plan to have fill-in starter Jose Godoy catch all nine innings while Minnesota's other backstop, Gary Sanchez, is out of the lineup for a fourth straight game with abdominal tightness. The Twins will hope to have at least one of Jeffers or Sanchez healthy enough to check back in behind the plate for Tuesday's series opener with the Tigers.

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

Stassi is receiving some routine maintenance after he went a combined 1-for-10 with a walk and a run scored while starting each of the past three games at catcher. Kurt Suzuki will replace Stassi at catcher in the series finale, forming a battery with southpaw starter Jose Suarez.

Kirk is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

After drawing two straight starts behind the plate, Kirk will cede catching duties to Zack Collins for the series finale. Kirk's dormant bat has began to wake up over his past four games; he's reached base at a .438 clip during that stretch.

Smith is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at San Diego, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Smith started the past three games and will receive a day off in the series finale. Austin Barnes will catch for Clayton Kershaw on Sunday.

Campusano was recalled from Triple-A El Paso on Sunday.

Campusano has spent the first couple weeks of the season at the Triple-A level, where he's hit .359/.375/.487 through nine games. The 23-year-old will now join the big club with Luke Voit (biceps) heading to the injured list. Campusano should see infrequent opportunities since catchers Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro remain healthy.

Jeffers was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox due to an unspecified issue, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Jose Godoy was added to the lineup as a replacement for Jeffers behind the plate. The Twins haven't indicated whether Jeffers will be available off the bench, but if not, Minnesota will be down both of its top two catchers. Gary Sanchez is out of the lineup for a fourth consecutive game while he battles abdominal tightness.

Manager David Bell said Sunday that he's unsure if Stephenson (concussion) will be ready to return from the 7-day injured list in time for the Reds' series in Colorado that begins Friday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Since he was placed on the 7-day injured list retroactive to April 20, Stephenson is technically eligible to return for the final two game of the Reds' home series with the Padres on Wednesday and Thursday, but Bell's comments imply that the backstop won't clear the concussion protocol by then. Stephenson doesn't sound like he's a lock to make it back for the weekend either, potentially making Aramis Garcia an attractive short-term pickup both in leagues that start one or two catchers. Though he's out of the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals, Garcia started each of the Reds' last four games and went 4-for-11 with two runs.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Yankees.

Hedges gave the Guardians a one-run lead in the eighth inning, but the Yankees pushed back to walk it off in the ninth. This was the catcher's first long ball of the year. He's slashing a meager .125/.200/.219 with three RBI and four runs scored through 37 plate appearances. Hedges remains a quality defensive catcher, but his offense does little to make a case for him to be rostered in many fantasy formats.

Plawecki (illness) is expected to return from the COVID-19 injured list at some point during the Red Sox's four-game series in Toronto that begins Monday, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Since Plawecki is vaccinated, he's eligible to cross the border and join the Red Sox in Toronto, but he'll first have to complete his quarantine and resume testing negative for the virus. Whenever he's activated, Plawecki is expected to replace Connor Wong as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Christian Vazquez.

Barnhart is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Barnhart rested in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader but will return to action Sunday. The veteran catcher has yet to really get going with a .574 OPS and no home runs or RBI through nine games, though he should continue to see regular playing time with Eric Haase on hand to spell him. Haase is starting in left field Sunday.