MLB Player News

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

After catching in the first two games of the series and going 1-for-8 with a double and two RBI, Stephenson will get a breather for the finale. Austin Wynns checks in for Stephenson behind the plate.

Fry is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Fry will receive a breather in the series finale after he had started in four of the Guardians' last five contests. With Fry on the bench, the Guardians will open up the designated-hitter spot for Jose Ramirez, who will cede third base to Angel Martinez.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Naylor will get a breather for the afternoon contest after he had started behind the plate in each of the Guardians' last four games while going 2-for-14 with a walk, two RBI and a stolen base. Austin Hedges will handle the catching duties Sunday.

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

Grandal will take a seat for the second day in a row while Joey Bart garners another start behind the dish. Though Grandal has been the Pirates' nominal No. 1 catcher when available this season, he's slashed a lowly .182/.213/.298 over 128 plate appearances on the campaign. In light of his struggles, Grandal could be falling into more of a timeshare with Bart.

The Pirates reinstated Davis (concussion) from the 7-day injured list Sunday and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Davis had made the last three of his five rehab appearances at Indianapolis, so he'll stick around with the affiliate since the Pirates didn't have a spot for him on the 26-man active roster. Joey Bart will continue to serve as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Yasmani Grandal, though with Grandal on an expiring contract and having mustered a lowly .511 OPS over 128 plate appearances on the season, it wouldn't be surprising if he was eventually designated for assignment to make room for Davis at some point after the All-Star break.

Alvarez (elbow) will start at catcher and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Alvarez was held out for Saturday's 5-2 win after he was struck in the left elbow by a fastball in Friday's 14-2 loss in the series opener, but the day off was apparently all the young catcher needed to overcome the soreness he had been experiencing. Since returning from the injured list June 11, Alvarez has slashed .338/.413/.600 with three home runs, 15 RBI and eight runs.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Ruiz will get a breather for the day game after he started behind the plate in the first two games of the series with St. Louis, going 4-for-9 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and two additional runs between those contests. Riley Adams will get the nod at catcher Sunday.

McCann entered Saturday's win over the Orioles as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and hit a two-run home run in his one plate appearance.

McCann's blast ironically came off namesake and fellow backstop James McCann, who was in as a reliever at that point with the Orioles down 17-6. McCann's homer plated Max Schuemann with the final runs of the night for the Athletics and served as his first time leaving the yard since May 7, a span of 21 games for the occasional fill-in catcher. The rookie has been impressive at the plate overall during his first taste of big-league action this season, with Saturday's production pushing his slash line to a stellar .291/.390/.465 across 100 plate appearances.

Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against Atlanta.

After sitting out in three of the past four games, Stubbs is back behind the dish for the series finale in Atlanta. In two of those three games that the lefty-hitting Stubbs didn't start, the Phillies opposed left-handed pitchers, so Stubbs would still seem to have a hold on the larger portion of a timeshare at catcher with the switch-hitting Rafael Marchan. Both backstops will see their opportunities decline once J.T. Realmuto (knee) returns from the injured list.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Phillies.

Murphy was on the bench for Friday's series opener and will also sit for Sunday's finale after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Saturday's contest. Travis d'Arnaud will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Reynaldo Lopez.