MLB Player News
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Kyle Higashioka C | TEX
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Hitting bench Wednesday
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Though he's on the bench Wednesday, Higashioka seems to have at least moved into a timeshare with Jonah Heim behind the dish. Over the last six games, Higashioka started five times (four at catcher, one at designated hitter), while Heim was included in the lineup three times during that stretch. Heim (.659 OPS) has still been more productive at the plate than Higashioka (.599 OPS), so the latter will likely need to string together some more quality offensive performances before emerging as the clear No. 1 option.
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Drake Baldwin C | ATL
Braves' Drake Baldwin: Sitting against righty
Baldwin is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks are sending Merrill Kelly to the bump Wednesday, but the left-handed-hitting Baldwin will take a seat for the second time in Atlanta's last four matchups with a righty. After he previously appeared content to deploy Baldwin and Sean Murphy in a platoon behind the plate, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker may be favoring more of a timeshare arrangement between the two backstops to keep both fresh. Baldwin and Murphy have now alternated starts over the last six games.
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Edgar Quero C | CHW
White Sox's Edgar Quero: Splitting catcher reps with Lee
Quero is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Tigers.
Quero has been alternating starts at catcher with Korey Lee since the latter returned from the injured list last week, although Quero received an additional start at designated hitter during that stretch. Still, the rookie catcher looks as though he may play a bit less with Lee around than he did when Matt Thaiss was still with the White Sox. Quero is slashing only .188/.263/.232 over his last 21 games and is still looking for his first major-league home run.
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Henry Davis RF | PIT
Pirates' Henry Davis: Idle Wednesday
Davis is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.
With Joey Bart (concussion) going on the injured list last week, Davis started behind the plate in four of the past five games, but the former might move into more of a timeshare at catcher as Endy Rodriguez becomes further removed from the index finger laceration that recently kept him on the shelf. Davis has supplied a middling .255/.326/.325 slash line since the beginning of May and could need to improve his production in order to gain more separation from Rodriguez in the battle for playing time between the two.
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Riley Adams C | WAS
Nationals' Riley Adams: Getting rare start
Adams will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Adams will be making just his 10th start of the season while top backstop Keibert Ruiz receives a rare day off. The lack of consistent playing time could be a factor in Adams' lackluster production at the dish; he heads into Wednesday's game with a .135/.135/.324 slash line and a 45.9 percent strikeout rate over 37 plate appearances.
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Patrick Bailey C | SF
Giants' Patrick Bailey: Extends hit streak to four games
Bailey went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Padres.
The 26-year-old doubled in the third inning before coming around to score on a two-run homer by Heliot Ramos. Bailey has recorded at least one hit in four straight games, slashing .357/.438/.500 with two doubles, two runs scored and a 2:4 BB:K across 16 plate appearances in that span. Overall, he's slashing .191/.254/.276 with 17 runs scored, 15 RBI, 10 extra-base hits -- including one home run -- and a 14:54 BB:K over 170 plate appearances.
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Andrew Knizner C | SEA
Giants' Andrew Knizner: Promoted to majors
The Giants selected Knizner's contract from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Knizner inked a minor-league deal a couple weeks ago and has been added to the big-league roster after going 11-for-30 in eight games with Sacramento. He'll take over backup catcher duties behind Patrick Bailey.
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Sam Huff C | BAL
Giants' Sam Huff: Removed from 40-man roster
The Giants designated Huff for assignment Wednesday, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Huff has slashed only .208/.259/.340 as the Giants' backup catcher, which wasn't good enough for him to stick around with the big club, especially since he's known more for his bat than his defense. Andrew Knizner was called up from Triple-A Sacramento and will take over as the team's new No. 2 catcher.
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Drake Baldwin C | ATL
Braves' Drake Baldwin: Launches sixth homer
Baldwin went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.
Fresh off being named the NL Rookie of the Month for May, Baldwin got hold of a Zac Gallen cutter in the fourth inning and ripped it down the right-field line for his sixth homer of the season. The rookie has been splitting starts behind the plate with Sean Murphy of late, but Baldwin's been the more productive hitter with a .379/.400/.621 slash line, four homers and 10 RBI over his last 20 games.