MLB Player News

Fortes is hitting seventh and starting behind the plate Saturday against Pittsburgh, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Fortes had his contract selected Friday, and he is set to make his big-league debut one day later. A fourth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft, Fortes played at both Double-A and Triple-A this season. Most recently, he hit .237/.322/.378 across 152 plate appearances at Triple-A Jacksonville. The Marlins also selected the contract of Payton Henry on Friday, so the team could have a duo of young backstops starting the majority of the games to close the season.

Ruiz is not in Saturday's starting lineup against the Rockies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz has turned in consecutive three-hit performances, but he will sit Saturday for the fourth time in the Nationals' last eight games. Alex Avila will start behind the plate in Ruiz's absence.

Kirk remains on the bench for Saturday's game against the Twins.

The bat-first backstop owns a strong .823 OPS on the season, but he's hit just .125/.250/.250 across his last seven games. He sat in favor of Danny Jansen on Friday and will remain on the bench Saturday, with Reese McGuire taking over behind the plate.

Haase will not start Saturday's game against the Rays.

Haase has gone cold at the plate in September, hitting just .171, though he does at least have a pair of homers. Dustin Garneau starts behind the plate Saturday, catching Tarik Skubal.

Perez will not start Saturday's game against the Yankees.

Perez has so far started every other game since he returned from a shoulder injury Tuesday. Austin Hedges takes over behind the plate.

D'Arnaud went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's loss against the Giants.

D'Arnaud came close to being the hero for Atlanta, as his three-run bomb gave the team a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. The backstop has hit safely in five of his last six games but is hitting a mere .238 with a .843 OPS across 13 contests this month.

Smith is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against Cincinnati, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Smith hits the bench after starting six of the last seven games behind the plate. Austin Barnes enters the lineup in his place, catching Max Scherzer.

Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 9-8 loss to Colorado.

The 23-year-old recorded the first two three-hit efforts of his career in his last two games. Ruiz is now batting .224 with a home run, six RBI, four runs scored and a pair of doubles in 18 games between the Nationals and the Dodgers this year. He figures to see the bulk of the playing time behind the plate, while Riley Adams and Alex Avila compete for the backup role.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 9-8 win over Washington.

The catcher has homered three times in his last seven games, giving him 18 long balls on the year. Diaz's .236/.304/.469 slash line isn't anything special, but he's enjoying a career year when it comes to power thanks to playing half his games at Coors Field. He's added 40 RBI, 50 runs scored and 15 doubles across 96 contests.

Gallagher (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

The backstop went on the injured list Sept. 5 with left knee inflammation, but he's now set to resume playing in live games just 13 days later. Gallagher figures to get two or three games under his belt with Omaha before returning to Kansas City's active roster at some point next week.