MLB Player News
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Willson Contreras C | BOS
Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Smacks homer in Sunday's win
Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-2 win over Atlanta.
Contreras also struck out three times, his first game with multiple strikeouts since July 10. The catcher is hitting .317 (19-for-60) with five homers and 13 RBI over 16 contests this month. For the season, he's up to 11 long balls, 26 RBI, 33 runs scored, 13 doubles, three stolen bases and a .279/.402/.521 slash line across 229 plate appearances. While his strikeout rate is 27.1 percent -- the second-highest mark of his career -- he's offset it with a personal-best 14.8 percent walk rate.
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Ben Rortvedt C | NYM
Rays' Ben Rortvedt: Getting Monday off
Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
With southpaw Carlos Rodon toeing the rubber for the Yankees, the lefty-hitting Rortvedt will head to the bench for the series finale. Alex Jackson will spell Rortvedt behind the plate.
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Eric Haase C | SF
Brewers' Eric Haase: Goes deep twice
Haase went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI Sunday against the Twins.
Haase picked up his sixth start with the Brewers since having his contract selected from Triple-A on June 26 and posted his first multi-homer game since 2022 when he was with the Tigers. In just 21 at-bats, Haase has a .429 average with three dingers and eight RBI. He does have a 20-homer season to his credit from back in 2021, so while it's unlikely that he'll maintain this pace, his offensive reemergence could afford the Brewers the opportunity to give William Contreras a little extra rest and help keep him fresh through the second half of the season.
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: Resting Sunday
Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
Smith started the first two games coming out of the break and will receive Sunday off after he went 2-for-9 with a walk, an RBI and a run. Austin Barnes will do the catching for lefty James Paxton in the series finale.
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Elias Diaz C | KC
Rockies' Elias Diaz: Out Sunday, battling calf injury
Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants after leaving Saturday's 4-3 win in the third inning with right calf tightness, Dennis Georgatos of the Associated Press reports.
Since Diaz had started at catcher in the first two contests of the series, he might have been due to receive a breather for Sunday's finale anyway, and the injury made it an even easier decision for the Rockies to hold him out. Jacob Stallings came off the bench to replace Diaz on Saturday and will get the starting nod Sunday. Consider Diaz day-to-day heading into the Rockies' three-game series with the Red Sox that begins Monday.
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Curt Casali C | ATL
Giants' Curt Casali: Retreating to bench
Casali is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.
After going 0-for-2 with a strikeout while starting behind the plate in Saturday's 4-3 loss, Casali will return to his usual bench role in the series finale. Casali will likely be in store for just one or two starts per week while No. 1 backstop Patrick Bailey is healthy.
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Miguel Amaya C | CHC
Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Sitting out series finale
Amaya is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Amaya will take a seat for the second time in the three-game series against the Diamondbacks to open up the second half of the season. Though he's sported a hot bat of late with eight hits in his last 16 at-bats, Amaya is still slashing an underwhelming .213/.275/.298 on the season. Unless Amaya sustains his hot run at the dish for a longer period of time, the Cubs could prefer to prioritize Tomas Nido at catcher due to his defensive acumen.
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Gabriel Moreno C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno: Getting rest Sunday
Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
Moreno looks to be getting some routine maintenance for the Sunday afternoon contest after he had logged starts behind the dish Friday and Saturday. Jose Herrera will handle the catching duties for Arizona in the series finale.
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Freddy Fermin C | SD
Royals' Freddy Fermin: Sitting again Sunday
Fermin is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Fermin will sit for the second straight game while Salvador Perez starts behind the plate and Adam Frazier serves as the Royals' designated hitter. The Royals' willingness to deploy Perez at first base or DH on his non-catching days should continue to open up more playing time for Fermin compared to most No. 2 backstops, though Fermin's opportunities have taken a hit while his bat has cooled down of late. Fermin has gone 2-for-14 with a walk and four strikeouts over his last four starts.