MLB Player News

The Red Sox will place Plawecki on the COVID-19 injured list after he tested positive for the virus Monday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

In addition to Plawecki, two other unidentified staff members tested positive. Plawecki is fully vaccinated, so if he's able to make a speedy recovery from the illness, he'll be able to travel to Toronto early next week when the Red Sox and Blue Jays play a four-game set. Boston will call up Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester to step in as the backup catcher behind No. 1 option Christian Vazquez while Plawecki is in isolation from the team.

Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with an RBI ground-rule double and a run in a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday.

The journeyman backstop made an impact in his first start of the season, extending the Athletics' lead to 3-1 with his second-inning two-bagger. Bethancourt's stint with the big-league club may not extend beyond Austin Allen's stay on the restricted list, but as he showed Saturday, he can offer solid organizational depth at Triple-A Las Vegas and contribute in a pinch at the major-league level given his experience.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against Seattle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Maldonado started the past three games and will receive the day off for the series finale. Jason Castro will take over behind the plate Sunday.

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

Seattle will continue to utilize a three-man rotation behind the plate, with Luis Torrens receiving the starting nod Sunday. However, Raleigh leads the team with four starts and has an .812 OPS early in the campaign.

Stassi is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at Texas, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Stassi will head to the bench for the second time in the past three games. Kurt Suzuki will work behind the plate in his place during Sunday's series finale.

Gomes is starting at catcher and batting sixth in Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Willson Contreras will serve as the DH in the series finale Sunday afternoon, which opens up a spot for Gomes behind the plate. This will be just the third appearance of the season for the veteran, who has two hits in eight at-bats. Gomes has some appeal as a bargain option in daily leagues when he starts, but his playing time doesn't move the needle much in standard formats.

Bart is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Curt Casali will get the nod behind the dish as the Giants and Guardians wrap up their series with a matinee game. Bart started at either catcher or designated hitter in each of the Giants' last five games, going 5-for-17 with a home run, a double, a stolen base, three RBI and an additional run.

Bart went 0-for-4 with a stolen base and three strikeouts in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Guardians.

Bart's been very much hit or miss so far -- he's struck out in 13 of his 26 plate appearances, but he's also swatted two home runs and a double. The rookie catcher was initially expected to see a timeshare with Curt Casali, but Bart has gotten the better of that with six starts in the Giants' first eight games. While he's hit no higher than seventh, his fairly consistent presence in the lineup and solid hitting make him a reliable option in fantasy.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

He'll sit for the second Sunday in a row while No. 2 backstop Payton Henry receives a turn behind the plate in the series finale. Through his first eight games with the Marlins, Stallings has gone 3-for-24 with a home run and three RBI.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

He'll be getting some routine maintenance for the series finale on the heels of three consecutive starts over which he went 2-for-15 with a pair of RBI. Riley Adams will enter the lineup as the Nationals' catcher Sunday.