MLB Player News

The Cardinals optioned Knizner to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

St. Louis didn't have a need for Knizner as a third catcher with the team bringing back top backstop Yadier Molina (thumb) from the 10-day injured list. During his month-long stint with the big club, Knizner appeared in 11 games, going 8-for-35 (.229 average) with a home run and four RBI.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Sunday's victory over Arizona.

The rookie catcher cleared the left field wall with a two-run shot in the third inning and plated another run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Since being called up July 26 to serve as the Dodgers' primary catcher, Smith is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with four homers and 17 RBI in 13 games.

Mejia went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's loss to Colorado.

Mejia got the Padres on the board with a solo shot off German Marquez in the second inning and went on to collect two more hits in the contest to register his fifth straight multi-hit game. Over that span, he has batted a remarkable .650 (13-for-20) with a pair of homers and three RBI.

Vazquez went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Angels.

Vazquez left the yard in the fourth inning, tying the game at 3-3 with a two-run blast. The 28-year-old backstop is slashing .281/.320/.489 with 18 homers and 52 RBI over 101 games this season.

Narvaez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rays, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

He is hitting .284/.360/.433 with three home runs in 21 games since the All-Star break. Tom Murphy will start at catcher and hit sixth.

Hedges is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies.

Hedges has only started once in the last four games. Francisco Mejia will start behind the dish and hit sixth.

Bemboom was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Kevin Smith was placed on the injured list with back spasms, so the Angels needed to add a second healthy catcher. Max Stassi, who is starting Sunday, will likely get the majority of the playing time in the short term. Bemboom hit .410 with two home runs in 11 games with the Bees after getting traded from the Rays for cash in mid-July.

Caratini is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Reds.

Caratini will end up starting the bookend games of the series, with Jonathan Lucroy picking up a start in between on Saturday. The two figure to continue splitting playing time while Willson Contreras (hamstring) is on the injured list.

Rogers is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Royals.

Rogers will get a breather after starting the first two games of the series, with John Hicks taking over Sunday. The 24-year-old Rogers is slashing .182/.308/.455 with three home runs through his first 10 games of MLB action, and the rebuilding Tigers will likely continue to give him plenty of playing time the rest of the season.

Perez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Twins.

He has just two hits in 28 at-bats this month. Kevin Plawecki will start behind the dish and hit ninth.