MLB Player News

Heim is starting Tuesday against the Rangers.

Heim will bat ninth in his first taste of major-league action as he takes the place of Sean Murphy behind the dish. Despite his start Tuesday, Heim should continue to mainly play a backup role in the immediate future. The 25-year-old slashed .358/.412/.557 with four home runs at Triple-A last season.

Murphy isn't in Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers.

Murphy went 1-for-7 with one RBI and five strikeouts over the past two games, and he'll take a seat Tuesday. Jonah Heim will make his major-league debut at catcher in his place.

Grandal isn't in Tuesday's lineup against the Pirates.

Grandal started three consecutive games after returning from a back issue, but he'll get a day off against Pittsburgh. James McCann will start behind the plate Tuesday.

Gomes is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Phillies.

He is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, batting .364 with two home runs and just two strikeouts in 33 at-bats over that span. Kurt Suzuki will start behind the dish and hit fifth.

Nido was placed on the injured list Tuesday for an undisclosed reason, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The team is not specifying which IL Nido is being placed on; reading between the lines, it seems his absence could be COVID-19 related. Pat Mazeika was recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

Jackson was optioned to the Braves' alternate training site Tuesday.

Ronald Acuna was activated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Jackson's placement on the 40-man roster means he could be back in the majors later this summer, but he has four strikeouts in seven at-bats this year and lacks the defensive chops to get playing time when he is not producing at the dish.

Casali went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Brewers.

Casali got the Reds on the board with his homer off Brett Anderson in the sixth. The backstop is hitting .179/.319/.513 while handling the short side of a catching platoon with Tucker Barnhart.

Narvaez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and double in Monday's 4-2 win over the Reds.

Narvaez finally got on the board in the home run column when he took Trevor Bauer deep for a solo shot in the fourth inning. The backstop added a double in the sixth. Although he still sports an underwhelming .175/.299/.281 slash line, Narvaez has shown signs of heating up in the past two games, logging a single and three extra-base hits in his last eight at-bats.

Leon was activated from the family medical emergency list Monday.

Leon was away from the team for six days, but he'll return to the active roster. Although he saw relatively consistent playing time before his absence, Roberto Perez has since reclaimed his spot as the team's primary catcher.

Heim was recalled from Oakland's alternate training site Monday.

Austin Allen was optioned down in a corresponding move, so Heim will take over the backup catcher duties for now. This will be the 25-year-old's first taste of the big leagues. He hit .358/.412/.557 with four home runs and a 15.1 percent strikeout rate in 119 plate appearances at Triple-A last year.