MLB Player News
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Austin Hedges C | CLE
Guardians' Austin Hedges: Back in lineup Monday
Hedges (hand) will start at catcher and bat eighth against the Dodgers on Monday.
Hedges sustained a hand injury toward the tail end of spring training, though X-rays came back negative. He's been cleared to make his 2026 regular-season debut Monday, allowing Bo Naylor to take a breather after the former started in three of four games in the Guardians' opening series against the Mariners. Hedges appeared in 70 regular-season games for Cleveland in 2025 and slashed .161/.250/.277 with one steal, five home runs and 10 RBI in 180 plate appearances.
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Getting breather Monday
Raleigh is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
Raleigh is 2-for-15 with one double, one RBI, on stolen base and a 3:10 BB:K across his first 18 plate appearances this season. With Raleigh getting a breather against Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers, Mitch Garver is getting the start at catcher and hitting sixth.
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Sean Murphy C | ATL
Braves' Sean Murphy: Could play in rehab games this week
Murphy (hip) could begin a rehab assignment with High-A Rome later this week, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.
Murphy has rejoined Atlanta to continue rehabbing from hip surgery. He will work out with the big club early this week before participating in a simulated game with Rome on Wednesday. Murphy has not played in a game setting in nearly seven months, so he will need more than just a few rehab contests before being activated from the 10-day injured list. The 31-year-old could be ready for his season debut around the beginning of May.
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Samuel Basallo C | BAL
Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Taking seat Monday
Basallo is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.
Basallo started each of the Orioles' three games against the Twins in the opening series, going 2-for-10 at the plate with a 2:4 BB:K. With Basallo getting the night off from the starting nine, Dylan Beavers will make the start in right field and bat sixth, while Tyler O'Neill hits fifth as the designated hitter.
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J.T. Realmuto C | PHI
Phillies' J.T. Realmuto: Gets first day off
Realmuto is not in the lineup for Monday's tilt against the Nationals.
Realmuto will receive a day of rest after starting all three games during the weekend set against the Rangers. Rafael Marchan will do the catching and bat ninth in Monday's series opener.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Out of Monday's lineup
Ruiz is not in the lineup for Monday's game in Philadelphia.
Ruiz and Drew Millas have split starts at catcher in the early going, as Millas will get the call in Monday's series opener. Both of the switch-hitting Ruiz's starts have come against left-handed pitching, though that seems more like happenstance than a trend that will continue.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Swats first homer
Ruiz went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in Sunday's win over the Cubs.
After bringing home Daylen Lile with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, Ruiz belted his first homer of 2026 in the eighth, lifting a Hoby Milner changeup into the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field. Ruiz hit just two homers over 68 games in 2025 while slashing a tepid .247/.277/.318, but the switch-hitting backstop is looking a little more lively at the plate to begin the current campaign.
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Drake Baldwin C | ATL
Braves' Drake Baldwin: Supplies only offense in loss
Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Royals.
The second-year backstop took John Schreiber deep in the eighth inning to ruin a combined shutout for Kansas City. Baldwin has started all three of Atlanta's game so far, two at catcher and one at DH, while going 3-for-11 with two solo shots, a third run scored and a 2:2 BB:K.
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Doubles Sunday
Raleigh went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in Sunday's 8-0 win over Cleveland.
Raleigh's sixth-inning double was his first extra-base hit this season. While he does have hits in back-to-back games, it's been a tough start to the year for Raleigh -- he's now 2-for-18 with 10 strikeouts through four games. While it's a safe bet that Raleigh will turn things around, some regression is certainly possible after the catcher's record-setting 2025 campaign, where he slashed .247/.359/.589 with 60 homers, 125 RBI and a career-low 26.7% strikeout rate across 705 regular-season plate appearances.