MLB Player News

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins.

Barnhart is just getting some routine maintenance for a day game after a night game. Curt Casali will check in behind the plate and work in a battery with Sonny Gray.

Barnes is starting at catcher and hitting eighth against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

It's the second straight start for the 29-year-old, and with Russell Martin (back) hitting the injured list on Wednesday, Barnes figures to carry the majority of the load at the position for as long as his veteran teammate is out. Rocky Gale was called up and will serve as the backup to Barnes.

Sanchez (legs) is available to pinch hit Wednesday against the Astros, Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reports.

Sanchez has been dealing with some tightness in his leg recently, which explains why he was limited to DH duties Tuesday and left out of the lineup altogether Wednesday. The backstop didn't seem too worried about the issue -- a notion confirmed by his availability off the bench -- and said he expects to return to the lineup Friday against the White Sox, per Meredith Marakovits of YES Network. In the meantime, Austin Romine is starting at backstop and hitting eighth.

Sanchez is not in the lineup Wednesday against Houston.

Sanchez was the designated hitter in Tuesday's game due to unspecified tightness, James Wagner of The New York Times reports. It's unclear whether that's the cause of his absence Wednesday or if he's simply due for a routine day off. With no game Thursday and seemingly no serious injury worries, Sanchez should be considered likely return to the lineup Friday against the White Sox.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

Maldonado will head to the bench for Wednesday's night game with an afternoon contest on the docket Thursday. The backstop, who is 6-for-31 (.194) through nine games this season, will give way to Cameron Gallagher behind the dish in this one.

Hedges is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Giants.

Hedges sits for the second time in three games, though he still has a clear edge over Francisco Mejia in starts behind the plate this season, getting the call for eight out of 13 games. He's hitting just .200 in those eight games.

Realmuto went 3-for-5 at the plate in Tuesday's loss to the Nationals.

Realmuto had started the season slowly, grabbing just four hits in his first seven games, but he's since had five hits in his last three. He appears to be in line for one of the heavier workloads in the league among all catchers, as he's sat just once in the team's first 10 games.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored and three RBI in Tuesday's 11-8 loss to the Angels.

The catcher is on fire at the plate, putting together a six-game hitting streak during which he's 12-for-22 (.545) with all three of his homers on the year. Grandal has been sitting every third game or so in the early going, but given his current form at the plate he could see a bigger workload in the short term until he cools down.

Garver went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two solo home runs in Tuesday's 14-8 win over the Mets.

Garver hit a pair of long home runs off Jacob deGrom during the second and third innings as the Twins roughed up the reigning NL Cy Young winner for six runs. The 28-year-old had only seven home runs in 335 plate appearances last season, making Tuesday's power surge all the more unexpected. Garver is likely to continue splitting time behind the plate with Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo. The Twins have yet to start the same catcher in consecutive games.

Gomes went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run during Tuesday's extra-inning win over the Nationals.

Gomes found himself on the bench for the previous two games but made his presence known in his return to the lineup Tuesday. Gomes has started six games to Kurt Suzuki's four, so it's been a pretty even timeshare behind the plate thus far for the Nationals.