MLB Player News

Maldonado (shoulder) will catch and bat ninth Thursday against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado missed Wednesday's game after leaving Tuesday's contest with a bruised trapezius following a collision at home plate. He's back in action after a brief absence and will look to improve on his awful .091/.167/.136 season slash line, though he may have a tough time doing so with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees.

Vazquez moved from catcher to second base after Christian Arroyo left Wednesday's game with a hand injury.

Arroyo was hit by a pitch on his left hand but stayed in the game to run before being removed as a fielder. Vazquez has played second base before during his career, but his deployment Wednesday should be viewed as a stopgap measure. He's not expected to fill in at the position should Arroyo need multiple days off. The Red Sox can easily have Enrique Hernandez or Marwin Gonzalez, both of whom were already in Wednesday's game, play the keystone.

Nido went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals.

Nido didn't see action during the first game of the twin bill but made his presence felt in Game 2, as he was one of three players with two hits and two RBI while also going deep for the first time in 2021. The 27-year-old backstop only has 16 at-bats this season, however, and the lack of playing time certainly conspires against his fantasy upside.

Gomes went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to Atlanta.

His fourth-inning blast was the only offense the Nats could muster off Max Fried. Gomes is locked in right now, going 7-for-15 over the last four games with a double and two of his three homers on the year as he looks to prove last year's .284/.319/.468 slash line was no fluke.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Nationals.

The 23-year-old took Erick Fedde deep in the fourth inning for his first career MLB homer. Contreras has gone 4-for-10 while starting three straight games, and he figures to continue seeing a heavy workload while Travis d'Arnaud (thumb) is on the shelf.

Garver went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Rangers.

Garver provided the Twins with their lone run of the game when he smacked his sixth home run of the season in the second inning. He's started to heat up at the dish, as he's now managed four home runs in his last five starts while also tallying three multi-hit games in that span. With Ryan Jeffers currently at Triple-A Rochester, Garver should have a clear path to regular at-bats for the Twins behind the dish. To this point, he's managed a .208/.250/.500 line with 13 RBI and eight runs scored across 76 plate appearances.

Bart was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento after Wednesday's loss to the Rockies, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old was promoted Tuesday and made an appearance as a pinch hitter, but he'll head to the minors with Sacramento's season set to begin Thursday. Bart should serve as the regular starter behind the plate for the River Cats this season.

Stassi is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.

Stassi is 1-for-13 in his last four appearances and will take a seat Wednesday. Kurt Suzuki will take over behind the plate for Los Angeles.

Knizner is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mets, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Knizer started Game 1 and will head to the bench after going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Ali Sanchez will take over behind the plate in the nightcap for the Cardinals.

McCann is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

McCann went 0-for-3 with an RBI during Game 1, and it's not a surprise he won't be starting both games of the twin bill. Tomas Nido will start behind the plate in the nightcap for New York.