MLB Player News

Caratini will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Caratini has been a beneficiary of Yordan Alvarez's (hand) recent move to the injured list, which has freed up a regular spot in the lineup at designated hitter. The Astros haven't settled on any one player to replace Alvarez, but because top backstop Yainer Diaz has been included in the DH rotation, Caratini has seen his playing time pick up. Caratini will be making his fourth start in five games Wednesday.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and four runs scored in Wednesday's 9-5 win over Cleveland.

The 27-year-old backstop entered the contest in a 1-for-16 slump but ended up serving as a table-setter out of the cleanup spot Wednesday, as Rhys Hoskins drove in five runs out of the No. 6 hole. It's the fourth four-hit performance of Contreras' career and the first time he's tallied more than two hits in a game this season. He was struggling through 11 games in May prior to Wednesday's showing, having gone 5-for-39 (.128 average) with 12 strikeouts.

Heim is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Kyle Higashioka will draw a start behind the plate while Heim takes a seat for the second time in the series. Heim still appears to be the Rangers' preferred option behind the plate, though he'll likely be subject to more frequent rest days now that Higashioka is back in the fold after a recent stint on the injured list.

Ruiz is not in the Nationals' starting lineup against Atlanta on Wednesday.

Ruiz went 0-for-4 in Tuesday's loss to Atlanta, which ended his on-base streak at 11 games. He'll get a breather Wednesday while Riley Adams starts behind home plate and bats ninth.

Stephenson is not in the Reds' starting lineup against the White Sox on Wednesday.

Stephenson will get a breather Wednesday after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the White Sox. Jose Trevino will start behind the dish and bat sixth.

Diaz is not in the Padres' starting lineup against the Angels on Wednesday.

Diaz will ride the pine for a second straight game while Martin Maldonado starts behind home plate and bats ninth. Diaz has gone 8-for-25 with a solo home run and six runs scored since the beginning of May.

Alvarez is not in the Mets' starting lineup against the Pirates on Wednesday.

Alvarez will get a breather after going 0-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts over the first two games of the series. Luis Torrens (groin) will work behind home plate and bat out of the sixth spot Wednesday.

Torrens (groin) is starting behind home plate and batting sixth against the Pirates on Wednesday.

Torrens suffered a groin injury during Sunday's win over the Cubs, but with two days rest he's back in the Mets' lineup Wednesday. He is slashing .247/.313/.425 with four runs scored, one home run and 11 RBI over 80 plate appearances this season.

Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

Though he had seemed to be moving into the strong side of a platoon at catcher with Danny Jansen, the left-handed-hitting Rortvedt will end up hitting the bench Wednesday for a third straight matchup versus a right-handed starting pitcher. Rortvedt is heralded for his defense behind the plate and his quick pop time, but he's been an easy out at the plate this season with a .196 on-base percentage.

Kirk (head) will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Kirk was pulled from his last start in Sunday's 9-1 win over the Mariners after he was inadvertently hit in the head by Julio Rodriguez's bat while catching, but the backstop passed all subsequent concussion tests. The Blue Jays still elected to hold Kirk out of the lineup for Tuesday's series opener versus the Rays, but he's ready to go for Wednesday's contest. Kirk maintains a .286 batting average to go with two home runs and 13 RBI over 31 games on the season.