MLB Player News
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Drake Baldwin C | ATL
Braves' Drake Baldwin: Belts homer No. 10
Baldwin went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Orioles.
The rookie backstop accounted for all of Atlanta's offense when he crushed a Charlie Morton fastball to right field in the sixth inning. Baldwin has hit a bit of a wall over the last couple weeks, going just 2-for-18 since June 24, but both hits left the yard. On the season, he's slashing .274/.348/.476 with 10 homers and 28 RBI, and Atlanta seems content to deploy a timeshare behind the plate with Baldwin and Sean Murphy, with each catcher starting five of the last 10 games.
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Carson Kelly C | CHC
Cubs' Carson Kelly: Pops 10th home run Friday
Kelly went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 11-3 win over the Cardinals.
Kelly hit one of eight Chicago home runs on the afternoon, which included three from Michael Busch and two from Pete Crow-Armstrong. The veteran catcher now has 10 long balls this season, and he's been hot recently, recording a .407 batting average and 1.152 OPS over his last 10 games. Kelly should remain the Cubs' top backstop moving forward, though he'll receive competition for playing time when Miguel Amaya (oblique) returns from the injured list, which is expected sometime around the All-Star break,
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: Provides lone run in loss
Smith went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Friday's 18-1 loss to the Astros.
Smith was the only Dodger to put together a successful effort at the plate against Houston's pitching duo of Lance McCullers and Jason Alexander. It's been a strong stretch of late for Smith, who has gone 14-for-37 (.378) with six homers and seven RBI over his last 12 games. The catcher is at a .330/.433/.564 slash line with 12 homers, 45 RBI, 44 runs scored, two stolen bases, 15 doubles and one triple over 69 contests.
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Victor Caratini C | MIN
Astros' Victor Caratini: Lifts another grand slam
Caratini went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, two doubles and a second run scored in Friday's 18-1 win over the Dodgers.
Caratini has launched a pair of grand slams over his three games in July. He's 6-for-14 with eight RBI to begin the month in fine form. Overall, the catcher continues to perform well at the plate. He's slashing .254/.308/.429 with eight homers, 27 RBI, 21 runs scored and nine doubles across 208 plate appearances this season.
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Prolific campaign continues Friday
Raleigh went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Friday's 6-0 win over the Pirates.
Raleigh left the yard twice for the seventh time already this season, pushing his major-league lead up to 35 homers for the year in the process. With Friday's showing, the slugging backstop surpassed his homer total of 34 through 154 games in 2024 to set a career high. Across his first 86 outings this year, Raleigh is slashing a prolific .271/.379/.648 with 16 doubles, 74 RBI, 62 runs scored and a career-high nine stolen bases covering 380 trips to the plate.
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Luke Maile C | KC
Royals' Luke Maile: Up from Omaha
The Royals selected Maile's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Friday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Salvador Perez has been playing through a bit of calf tightness recently, so the Royals will bring up Maile to provid insurance behind the plate in case Perez ends up on the IL. The 34-year-old Maile has done well in the minors this year, slashing .280/.416/.354 through 101 plate appearances at Triple-A. Drew Waters was optioned to Omaha in a corresponding move.
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Alejandro Kirk C | TOR
Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: On bench Friday
Kirk is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.
Kirk will get a well-deserved breather after starting all four games against the Yankees to begin the week, including making three starts at catcher. Tyler Heineman will step in behind the plate in place of Kirk, who is slashing a healthy .305/.358/.420 across 288 plate appearances so far this season.
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Tom Murphy C | SF
Giants' Tom Murphy: Still no timeline for return
Manager Bob Melvin said Thursday that Murphy (back) is still rehabbing and there's no clear timeline for his return, per MLB.com.
Murphy was placed on the 60-day injured list March 26 due to a mid-back disc herniation that was diagnosed near the end of February and isn't expected to return before the All-Star break. The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the club in December 2023 but missed the majority of the 2024 campaign due to a sprained MCL in his left knee, slashing .118/.211/.235 with three runs scored, two RBI and one home run across just 38 plate appearances.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Back from injured list
The Nationals reinstated Ruiz (concussion) from the 7-day injured list Friday.
The 26-year-old landed on the concussion IL on June 24 after being struck by a foul ball while in the dugout, but he's back on the active roster after missing little more than a week. Prior to the injury, Ruiz was scuffling at the plate through 15 games in June with a .167/.164/.204 slash line and just two extra-base hits.