MLB Player News

Bart isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Thursday's game against Milwaukee.

After launching a grand slam Tuesday, Bart was held hitless in three at-bats during Wednesday's contest, and he'll now receive a breather during Thursday's rubber match. Yasmani Grandal will fill in behind the dish and bat ninth.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.

Riley Adams will draw the start at catcher while Ruiz rests for the day game after a night game. Ruiz had started in each of the Nationals' last three contests, going 4-for-12 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two runs.

Alvarez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez will receive a breather for Thursday's matinee contest after he had started each of the previous four days, with three coming at catcher and one at designated hitter. Luis Torrens will fill in behind the dish Thursday in place of Alvarez, who is slashing .300/.382/.433 thus far in July.

Bailey went 2-for-2 with a home run, three walks and three runs scored in Wednesday's loss to the Blue Jays.

Bailey reached five times on the night, scoring a run in two of his first three trips to the plate before smacking a solo homer in the ninth to give him seven long balls on the season. The catcher has now hit safely in three straight games and has recorded multiple hits in each of his last two. Wednesday also marked only the fourth time on the campaign that Bailey's drawn multiple walks.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Reds.

Diaz will receive a breather for Thursday's day game after he went 2-for-4 with an RBI while catching all nine innings of the Rockies' 6-5 win Wednesday night. Hunter Goodman will handle the catching duties for Colorado.

Rogers is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Rogers had started behind the plate in three of the Tigers' last four contests, but he'll take a seat Thursday while the two clubs wrap up their series with a day game after a night game. Carson Kelly will draw the start at catcher.

Maldonado went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Twins.

Maldonado entered July with only one home run for the season, but he's now slugged three long balls in his last four games. He'll remain the clear backup to Korey Lee on the depth chart and has typically been drawing a start every three games.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Angels.

Heim, who was scratched from Tuesday's game with neck stiffness, returned to the starting lineup Wednesday. The catcher's bat is hot right now; he's hit safely in four of the last five games, including three multi-hit efforts, going 9-for-21 (.429) with a home run and two RBI.

Diaz went 3-for-4 with three RBI in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Marlins.

Diaz opened and closed the scoring Wednesday, delivering an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the sixth. This was his seventh three-hit game over his last 15 contests, a span in which he's batting .406 (26-for-64). The catcher is up to a .286/.312/.415 slash line with seven home runs, 48 RBI, 38 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples and one stolen base over 81 games this season. Diaz isn't a high-end defensive catcher, but his place in the lineup is secure when he's swinging the bat as well as he has lately.

Perez went 3-for-7 with two home runs and four RBI over both games of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of St. Louis.

Perez started at catcher in Game 1 and recorded a 424-foot solo homer along with an RBI single. He was back in the lineup at DH in Game 2 and belted another solo shot while adding a sacrifice fly. Perez is up to 16 long balls on the campaign, tied for third most among MLB backstops. He's also tied for the lead among catchers with 59 RBI.