MLB Player News

Stephenson (oblique) received more good news after undergoing an MRI on Monday, and he'll begin to be more aggressive in his recovery, Pat Brennan of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Stephenson is continuing to fight through a left oblique injury, but another MRI showed that he's moving in the right direction. The Reds have yet to disclose a concrete timetable for a return, though he'll likely need to see at least a handful of at-bats in the minors before being activated from the 10-day injured list.

Wong left Monday's game against the Blue Jays due to a bruised left hand, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Wong appeared to suffer the injury on a catcher's interference call and left the game shortly after. He's presumably headed for further testing and can be considered day-to-day until the team provides another update on his availability moving forward. Carlos Narvaez replaced Wong behind the dish and would be in line for more chances if Wong is forced to miss additional time.

Triple-A Norfolk placed Basallo (hamstring) on its 7-day injured list Saturday.

Norfolk deactivated Basallo one day after he was removed from a game due to left hamstring discomfort. The severity of Basallo's injury isn't yet known, but the catching prospect will need at least a week off to move past the issue. Basallo had already been slowed down in spring training after suffering from elbow inflammation, which had resulted in him being limited to designated-hitter duties over his first seven games this season with Norfolk.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that Herrera will miss at least four weeks after being diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left knee, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Testing on Herrera's knee came back negative for structural damage, but the bone bruise is going to cost the young catcher a month of action, at minimum. Pedro Pages will take on the primary catcher duties for the Cardinals while Herrera is out, and Yohel Pozo has been called up from Triple-A Memphis to serve as Pages' backup.

Kelly is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.

Miguel Amaya will receive a turn behind the plate while Kelly rests after starting at catcher in the Cubs' previous two contests. The playing time at catcher has tilted in favor of Kelly so far this season while he's gotten off to a scorching start with four extra-base hits and seven walks through his first 26 plate appearances.

Hicks is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.

After starting the last three games while top backstop Nick Fortes dealt with a stiff neck, Hicks will retreat to the bench now that Fortes has seemingly moved past the issue. A Rule 5 draft pick over the winter, Hicks has appeared in six games so far this season and has gone 4-for-17 with an RBI.

Fortes (neck) will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's game against the Mets.

Liam Hicks will head back to the bench while Fortes checks into the starting lineup after a stiff neck kept him out of the lineup for the Marlins' past three contests. Assuming the neck issue doesn't crop up again, Fortes should see the lion's share of the starts at catcher this season.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.

Jeffers and Christian Vazquez continue to alternate turns behind the plate, with neither player having yet made two consecutive starts at catcher through the Twins' first 10 games. Expect that trend to persist throughout the season as manager Rocco Baldelli aims to keep both backstops fresh.

Torrens (forearm) is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Marlins.

He'll be on the bench for the third game in a row while he gets more time to recover from a right forearm contusion. Hayden Senger will get another turn behind the dish, but the Mets' willingness to use Torrens off the bench in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays suggests that he'll be ready to return to the starting lineup soon.

Pages is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates.

Though he's the Cardinals' new No. 1 catcher after Ivan Herrera (knee) was placed on the injured list earlier Monday, Pages will get a breather for the series opener in Pittsburgh after he caught 17 innings during Sunday's doubleheader with the Red Sox. The newly promoted Yohel Pozo will draw the start behind the dish Monday in his Cardinals debut.