MLB Player News

Ruiz (finger) has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2019 season, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Ruiz fractured the pinkie finger on his (right) throwing hand when he was struck by a foul ball in his Aug. 3 game with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers haven't provided a formal timeline for Ruiz's return, but the decision to shut him down for the season suggests he'll be in store for at least a month-long recovery from the injury. The organization's top catching prospect currently in the minors now that Will Smith has moved up to the big club, the 21-year-old Ruiz finished the 2019 campaign with a .261/.331/.347 slash line and six home runs across 350 plate appearances between Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa.

Jansen went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and two additional runs scored in Monday's win over the Rangers.

His eighth-inning blast was the cherry on top of a 19-run sundae by the Jays offense. Jansen has now gone yard twice in his last three starts and three times in seven August contests, giving the catcher a solid 11 homers and 40 RBI through 90 games this season.

Stallings went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and three RBI in the Pirates' 10-2 victory over the Angels on Monday.

The backstop chipped in on a big day for the Pittsburgh offense with a fourth-inning solo shot off Jose Rodriguez, for his fourth long ball of the season. He's performed respectably over his 102 at-bats in 2019, as this performance leaves him with a .284/.348/.441 slash line.

Diaz isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.

Diaz will take a seat after going 0-for-6 over his last three contests. Jacob Stallings gets the call behind the dish and is set to bat eighth in Diaz's stead.

Sanchez is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader against the Orioles, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Sanchez will sit for Game 2 of Monday's twin bill after catching all nine innings in Game 1 and going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. In his place, Austin Romine is starting at catcher and hitting seventh.

Manager Charlie Montoyo said McGuire will split time at catcher with Danny Jansen down the stretch, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

McGuire and Jansen have each started four of the past eight games at catcher, a timeshare that is expected to continue down the stretch. The 24-year-old McGuire is slashing .259/.259/.519 with two home runs and a 25.9 percent strikeout rate in 27 plate appearances (eight games) since earning a promotion to the majors at the end of July.

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Jansen will split time with Reese McGuire behind the plate down the stretch, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Since the start of August, Jansen has started six games behind the dish while McGuire has started five, a trend that is expected to continue moving forward. Since the start of the second half, Jansen is slashing just .186/.269/.300 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 22 games, though he's been providing quality defense amid his offensive struggles.

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.