MLB Player News

Rogers is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Reds.

Rogers was out of the lineup Saturday, marking his third absence in the last four games, but he's back in there Sunday in place of Carson Kelly. Based on the recent playing time, it seems Kelly has pulled ahead as Detroit's top catching option, though Rogers could swing things back in his favor if he starts driving the ball over the wall more frequently.

Smith went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-3 win against Milwaukee.

After belting three solo homers Friday, Smith smashed a two-run shot in his first at-bat Saturday. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the backstop became the first Dodger to homer in four straight at-bats since Adrian Gonzalez in 2015 and the first major leaguer to do so since Jose Altuve in September of last season. Smith's two-game power surge has pushed him to 15 long balls on the campaign, tied for third among MLB catchers.

Kelly is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

With eight hits -- including three home runs -- in 28 at-bats over his last eight starts, Kelly seems to have at least temporarily overtaken Jake Rogers as the Tigers' preferred catcher. Though Rogers gets the nod behind the dish Sunday, Kelly had started in three of the previous four contests.

Torrens went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Pirates.

Getting the nod behind the plate after Francisco Alvarez took a Paul Skenes fastball off his elbow Friday, Torrens opened the scoring with a bases-loaded double in the third inning. He hasn't fallen out of the game plan completely since Alvarez returned from the injured list about a month ago -- Torrens has started four of the last seven games, three at catcher and one at DH, and manager Carlos Mendoza will likely continue to find way to get him into the lineup given his .317/.364/.610 slash line with three homers in 44 plate appearances since joining the Mets.

Reds manager David Bell said Friday that he's hopeful that Maile (back) will be ready to return from the 10-day injured list shortly after the All-Star break, MLB.com reports.

Maile was diagnosed with a herniated disc and placed on the IL on Friday after he had previously complained of a nerve issue on the lower right side near his hip following the Reds' 8-4 win over the Yankees on Thursday. Bell said that Maile has already received an injection to treat the injury, so the veteran backstop could be cleared to resume baseball activities once the shot takes full effect. Austin Wynns was called up from Triple-A Louisville on Friday and will serve as the backup to Tyler Stephenson while Maile is on the shelf.

Kirk went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Saturday's 5-4 win against Seattle.

Kirk was a big part of the Blue Jays' offense in the victory, plating the team's first run with a double in the fourth inning and adding a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The backstop finished with his third three-hit effort of the campaign. The performance moved Kirk's batting average back over the Mendoza Line to .214.

Rutschman went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in a loss to the Athletics on Saturday.

Rutschman's three-run blast in the seventh inning didn't have much of an impact on the outcome since Oakland still led 17-4 at that point, but it may have been a momentum-shifter personally after he had collected just one hit over his previous 19 at-bats. The long ball also moved him into second place for homers among MLB catchers with 16 on the campaign. Only Oakland's Shea Langeliers -- who hit his 17th homer in the same contest Saturday -- has more home runs among big-league backstops.

Langeliers went 2-for-6 with a two-run home run, an additional RBI and an additional run in a 19-8 victory versus the Orioles on Saturday.

Langeliers piled on to a decimation of Baltimore's pitching with a two-run shot to left field in the third inning that gave gave Oakland a 12-0 lead. The backstop had previously notched an RBI single in the second frame. Langeliers has gone deep in two straight contests and in four of his past 10. He leads MLB catchers with 17 long balls on the campaign.

Moreno is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego.

Moreno had started in four straight games since being activated from the injured list and will yield to Jose Herrera behind the dish Saturday. Moreno owns a .714 OPS and a 15.3 percent K-rate across 235 plate appearances this season.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said Saturday that Herrera (back) experienced no pain after Friday's rehab outing with Triple-A Memphis, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

As the designated hitter Friday, Herrera went 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI and one walk. Marmol noted that Herrera will start behind home plate soon, and a return to the majors will hinge on the 24-year-old's ability to start at catcher on back-to-back days. Before landing on the injured list June 22 with lower-back tightness, Herrera was slashing .279/.340/.378 with three home runs and 19 RBI over 191 major-league plate appearances.