MLB Player News

Casali has gone 6-for-26 (.231) with a home run and two doubles through nine games in August.

Casali sees a regular work pattern, typically starting behind the dish roughly once every three games. He went 0-for-3 Wednesday versus the Mets with Buster Posey sidelined by knee discomfort, although the latter had started four games in a row (once as the designated hitter in Oakland) and likely would have sat out that contest anyway. Should Posey need more time off, Casali could get a short-term bump in playing time, but he's hit to a mediocre .219/.321/.388 slash line with five homers, 23 RBI, 18 runs scored and 10 doubles in 185 plate appearances.

Barnhart will sit Thursday against the Brewers.

Barnhart hits the bench after starting seven of the last 10 games behind the plate. Tyler Stephenson takes over in his absence.

Stassi isn't starting Thursday against the Orioles.

Stassi recorded extra-base hits in each of his last two appearances, and he went 3-for-8 with two doubles, three runs and an RBI during that time. He'll get a breather while Kurt Suzuki starts behind the plate and bats fifth.

Hedges went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-2 win over the Rangers.

He launched one of Cleveland's three solo shots off Jake Latz in the Texas southpaw's big-league debut. Hedges has started 12 of 19 games since Roberto Perez (shoulder) got hurt but has been his usual unproductive self during that time with a .225/.273/.375 slash line, and Wednesday's homer was his first in August and only his sixth of the season.

Smith went 2-for-6 with a solo home run, a walk, stolen base and two runs scored in Wednesday's 5-3 extra-innings win over the Padres.

The Dodgers were unable to get anything going against Blake Snell over the first seven frames, but Smith came through in the eighth with a solo blast to tie the game up at one apiece. The 26-year-old later reached in the 15th inning and would score off a base knock by Trea Turner. Smith is one of three catchers in baseball to have reached 20 home runs this season and is now slashing .259/.368/.497 with 37 extra-base hits, 61 RBI, 57 runs scored, three steals and 47:81 BB:K over 399 plate appearances.

Maldonado went 1-for-3 with a solo home run Wednesday in an extra-inning victory versus the Royals.

The backstop produced the first run of the game with a solo shot to left field in the third inning. The homer was his 10th of the season, marking the third time in his career he has reached double digits in that category during a campaign. Maldonado has otherwise struggled in 2021, however, batting a paltry .190 with 100 strikeouts across 291 at-bats.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday.

The catcher got the Royals on the board in the fourth inning with a solo shot to left field. The long ball was his fourth in his past six games, and all but one of his hits over that span have left the yard. Perez is up to a career-high 34 homers this season, tied for third in MLB.

Mejia went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run Wednesday against the Phillies.

Mejia came to the plate with the game tied at four in the ninth inning and delivered his sixth home run of the season to put the Rays in the lead. Though he gets only sporadic playing time, Mejia has at least one hit in eight of his last 10 appearances, including two doubles, one home run, eight RBI and six runs scored. For the season, he a .267/.326/.446 line across 222 plate appearances.

Wynns went 0-for-2 in Wednesday's 10-6 win over Baltimore.

Wynns has appeared in 10 games in August, going 6-for-30 (.200) with two doubles, one RBI and one runs scored this month. The catcher is slashing only .174/.216/.283 through 98 plate appearances this year. He'll remain in a backup role behind Pedro Severino -- playing time will probably be hard to come by down the stretch for Wynns.

Trevino will start at catcher and bat ninth Wednesday in Cleveland.

With Jonah Heim recently moving to the COVID-19 injured list, Trevino has temporarily reclaimed the No. 1 catcher job. He'll be behind the plate Wednesday for the fourth game in a row.