MLB Player News

Perez went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Friday's loss to Oakland.

The Royals were held without a run for six innings Friday before Perez broke the drought with a solo homer in the seventh. He went deep again in the next frame to tie the score, though the Athletics eventually secured the win. Perez is up to 16 long balls on the season, tied for sixth in the league and tops among all catchers. He has notched three two-homer games in June.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, an additional run and a strikeout in Friday's 12-1 win over the Rangers.

Smith doubled to lead off the third inning and scored on a Gavin Lux double before launching a solo home run to left off reliever Hyeon-Jong Yang the next inning. The homer was Smith's first since May 20, and his OPS has fallen from .879 to .831 in that time.

Stephenson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a pair of walks and a second run scored in Friday's 11-5 win over Colorado.

Stephenson got the start behind the dish Friday, and he supplied a solo shot in the fifth inning. The catcher is slashing a solid .267/.368/.420 with four homers, 17 RBI and 21 runs scored across 152 plate appearances. Tucker Barnhart has posted similar numbers this year, which will likely leave Stephenson in a backup role.

Barnes was not in Friday's lineup despite Clayton Kershaw starting for the Dodgers, but manager Dave Roberts says it was just a standard day off after he started Thursday, Dodger Insider reports.

Will Smith will catch Kershaw for the first time this year and just the second time since the start of last season. Barnes recently returned from an ankle injury, so the team didn't want him to catch on back-to-back days.

Hedges exited Friday's game against the Mariners after getting hit in the face by a 93 mph fastball from Justin Dunn, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

He stayed in initially but was later removed. It's unclear if he will go through the concussion protocol. Rene Rivera replaced him behind the dish.

Stassi is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Stassi will get a chance to rest his legs after starting the previous three games behind the plate. Kurt Suzuki will catch Shohei Ohtani and bat seventh Friday.

Contreras went 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's win over the Cardinals.

Contreras hit his 11th home run of the season in the eighth inning, giving the Cubs their final run of the day in the 8-5 victory. The catcher is third on the team in long balls, trailing Javier Baez (14 home runs) and Kris Bryant (13). Contreras is one of the best-hitting backstops in the game and should remain a strong fantasy asset.

Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against Kansas City, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Murphy will get a rest after starting the past four games behind the plate. Aramis Garcia will start at catcher and bat ninth Friday.

Stallings will sit Friday against the Brewers, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Stallings sits for the third time in five games. He's hit just .163/.200/.233 over his last 12 contests. Michael Perez will start behind the plate in his absence.

Grandal is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Tigers.

Grandal will get a rest after starting behind the dish for all three games of the previous series against the Blue Jays. Zack Collins will catch Lucas Giolito and bat eighth Friday.