MLB Player News

Higashioka will sit Thursday against the Blue Jays.

Higashioka looks like the clear primary catcher for the Yankees at the moment, as he'd started five of the first six games prior to Thursday's contest. He hasn't done much with those opportunities, going 1-for-18 at the plate. Jose Trevino will replace him behind the plate.

Grandal isn't starting Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Grandal went 2-for-8 with a strikeout in his last two appearances, and he'll get a breather for the second time in the last four games. Reese McGuire will draw the start behind the dish and bat seventh.

Murphy went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Rays.

Murphy entered the contest with just two hits in his first 21 at-bats of the season, but he matched that hit total in the productive performance Wednesday. The backstop's third-inning three-run homer provided all the scoring Oakland needed to grab its third win of the campaign. Murphy's four hits this season have included one single, one double, one triple and one long ball.

Stephenson went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's loss to the Guardians.

The catcher launched his second homer of the season in the eighth inning by connecting on a Nick Sandlin fastball, driving in Tyler Naquin. With Tucker Barnhart now in Detroit, Stephenson has stepped in the everyday role behind the dish and should have ample opportunity to build on a 2021 campaign where he compiled 10 home runs, 45 RBI and produced a .286 batting average over 132 games.

Barnes went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout Wednesday against the Twins.

Barnes was on the back end of three consecutive homers for the Dodgers in the eighth inning. He now has a pair of bombs early this season, which is notable considering he only left the yard six times across 225 plate appearances in 2021. Barnes will yield the majority of the playing time behind the plate to Will Smith, though he's made the most of his opportunity early on in the campaign.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Wednesday that Rutschman (triceps) has been making progress in his recovery, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.

Rutschman has been dealing with a right triceps strain since mid-March, and he's on the 7-day minor-league injured list to begin the regular season. However, he's been taking batting practice recently while going through a throwing progression. Although the 24-year-old's recent activity is certainly encouraging, he doesn't yet have a timetable to return to game action.

Caratini will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Both Caratini and Omar Narvaez have each picked up three starts apiece, but a timeshare arrangement doesn't seem to be in the works between the two catchers. Instead, manager Craig Counsell seems to be favoring a platoon setup, with the switch-hitting Caratini entering the lineup against southpaw pitchers, while the lefty-hitting Narvaez plays against righties.

Narvaez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

The lefty-hitting Narvaez will cede catching duties to the switch-hitting Victor Caratini with southpaw John Means on the mound for Baltimore in the series finale. Narvaez recorded his first hit of the season in Tuesday's 5-4 win.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two runs in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Pirates.

Contreras opened the scoring in the contest, taking the Pirates starter Zach Thompson deep for a solo shot in the top of the first inning. He later ripped a ground-rule double off Thompson, narrowly missing an opportunity to leg out a three-bagger. The multi-hit effort was Contreras' first of the season as he added his first couple extra-base knocks of the 2022 campaign as well. Contreras continues to represent an elite fantasy option at the shallow catcher position.

Raleigh is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

All of Raleigh, Luis Torrens and Tom Murphy have now picked up two starts apiece at catcher this season, making it difficult to discern which of the three is atop the depth chart. Raleigh is sitting for the second straight day Wednesday while Murphy picks up a turn behind the dish.