MLB Player News

Smith isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

After going 0-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts over his last three games, Smith will step aside Thursday while the red-hot Dalton Rushing starts behind the plate and bats seventh.

Kelly will start at catcher and bat fifth in Thursday's game against the Phillies.

The Cubs' initial lineup did not include Kelly, but he's in there in the updated version. Kelly is sporting a .310/.420/.466 batting line with a pair of homers and an 11:12 BB:K in the early going this season.

Kelly is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Phillies.

It's the first time this season Kelly has been out of the lineup for consecutive games, and he's now started just three of the last eight tilts. Miguel Amaya will draw a second straight start at catcher as the Cubs try to finish off a sweep.

Heim went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Nationals.

The 30-year-old got the start at catcher and hit ninth for Atlanta, and Heim did an effective job of flipping the lineup over in an 8-6 victory. Heim quietly has a six-game hitting streak dating back to April 7, batting .304 (7-for-23) over that stretch with three doubles, two RBI and a run. Heim isn't guaranteed to lose his spot on the 26-man roster when Sean Murphy (hip) gets healthy, given Atlanta's tendency to keep Drake Baldwin's bat in the lineup at DH when he isn't catching.

Baldwin went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's win over the Nationals.

The second-year backstop took Zack Littell deep in the first inning, kicking off an eight-run, four-homer barrage by Atlanta. Baldwin has left the yard in back-to-back games and seven times in his first 25 contests this season while compiling a stellar .320/.391/.563 slash line, 23 RBI and an MLB-leading 26 runs.

Trevino (back) will catch five innings in a rehab game for High-A Dayton on Friday, MLB.com reports.

The Reds considered activating Trevino from the 10-day injured list Wednesday, but he'll opt for a brief rehab assignment instead. The veteran backstop appears on track to be activated from the IL ahead of Sunday's series finale versus the Tigers.

Jensen went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, an additional RBI, an additional run scored and a walk in Wednesday's loss to the Orioles.

Jensen connected on his sixth homer of the season in the sixth inning, extending his team lead in that category. In his first full major-league season, the 22-year-old has lived up to the hype so far, slashing .275/.354/.565 with six homers, two doubles, 14 RBI and 11 runs through 23 appearances.

Bailey went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Dodgers.

Bailey had the biggest hit of the game when he took Jack Dreyer deep in the seventh inning for the lone scoring play. This was Bailey's first homer of the season, and it comes just less than a week after manager Tony Vitello hinted that the catcher position would become more of a timeshare for the Giants. That hasn't fully materialized yet -- this was Bailey's fourth straight game in the lineup -- but he could still see his usage reduced due to his .155 average and .429 OPS through 63 plate appearances. He's added four RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base across 19 games, though Bailey's defense will often make up for what he lacks as a hitter. To his credit, his plate discipline has improved this year with a 19 percent strikeout rate compared to 29.4 percent last year.

Campusano went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two doubles and two total runs scored in Wednesday's 8-3 loss to the Rockies.

Campusano's blast came in the seventh inning, but the Padres weren't able to build off of it. This was his second multi-hit effort of the season, and it was his first performance with an extra-base hit in his last six games. The catcher is batting .333 with a 1.052 OPS, two homers, seven RBI, seven runs scored, six doubles and no stolen bases over 39 plate appearances this year, but he continues to function in the backup catcher role behind Freddy Fermin.

Raleigh went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a stolen base and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the A's.

Raleigh has officially heated up after an ice-cold start to the year. The backstop has homered in three straight contests, going 6-for-13 with just two strikeouts in that span. The only downside is that all three long balls were solo shots. Overall, Raleigh is slashing .198/.281/.386 with five home runs, 14 RBI and two stolen bases across 114 plate appearances this season.