MLB Player News

Barnhart went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over Cleveland.

Barnhart gave Cincinnati an early lead with a 412-foot shot to center field in the second inning. The long ball was his second this season and pushed his RBI total to eight. The career .249 hitter is slashing .387/.424/.710 across 33 plate appearances in 2021. There's ample reason to be skeptical that he can sustain his early season success, but it's not the worst idea to ride his offensive surge for as long as he's swinging a hot stick.

Gomes went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and an additional RBI during Saturday's 6-2 win against Arizona.

The 33-year-old started the scoring with his first homer of the season during the second inning, and he followed up with an RBI single two frames later. Gomes is off to a strong start through six games, going 7-for-19 since returning from the COVID-19 injured list.

Mejia went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and an additional RBI during Saturday's 6-3 win over the Yankees.

The 25-year-old struggled to find his footing in the majors since making his debut with Cleveland in 2017, but he's off to a strong start in 2021. Mejia has a .333/.370/.542 slash line with one home run, two doubles and five RBI through eight games this season.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with two home runs in Saturday's win over the Braves.

Contreras took Huascar Ynoa deep twice, launching a solo shot in the first inning and adding another solo bomb in the third. The star backstop has six homers on the year and has been one of the few bright spots in the Cubs lineup this season, hitting safely in seven games in a row while posting a .282 average through his first 13 contests.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a walkoff solo home run in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays during the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.

After starting at catcher and going 0-for-3 in the opener, Perez slotted in at DH in the nightcap and played hero by launching his fourth homer of the year in the seventh inning off Joel Payamps. Perez is off to a strong start, slashing .300/.352/.600 through 13 games with nine RBI.

McCann is not in the lineup for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rockies, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports.

McCann unsurprisingly won't be asked to start twice in one day. He went 1-for-3 at the plate in the afternoon contest. Tomas Nido will catch Joey Lucchesi in the nightcap.

Smith is not starting Saturday's game against San Diego, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The Dodgers indicated prior to the start of the season that Smith could be given a lighter workload than most starting catchers, though the team has used a fairly standard split thus far. Smith has started nine games behind the plate, while Austin Barnes, who starts Saturday, has gotten the call six times.

Jansen isn't starting the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Royals.

Jansen started behind the plate in the first game of the twin bill and went hitless in three at-bats. Alejandro Kirk will take over as the starting catcher for Saturday's nightcap, batting seventh.

Sanchez (finger) won't start Sunday but could return for Tuesday's game against Atlanta, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez suffered a contusion to his right index and middle fingers after he was hit by a foul tip in the fourth inning of Saturday's loss to the Rays, and he was unable to finish the game. Although the X-rays on Sanchez's hand came back negative, Kyle Higashioka will serve as the starting catcher for Sunday's series finale against Tampa Bay. However, manager Aaron Boone was optimistic that Sanchez could return for Tuesday's series opener against Atlanta since he'll have two days to rest prior to the matchup.

Sanchez has been diagnosed with a contusion to his right index and middle fingers after the X-rays on his right hand were negative.

Sanchez was removed from Saturday's game in the fifth inning after he was hit on the right hand by a foul tip in the fourth frame. He's considered day-to-day following his examination, and Kyle Higashioka could fill in at catcher if Sanchez is forced to miss additional time.