MLB Player News

Bailey is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey will get a breather for Thursday's day game after he started behind the plate in both of the first two games of the series. Curt Casali will spell him at catcher, forming a battery with starting pitcher Jordan Hicks.

Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Top backstop Korey Lee is getting a breather for the day game after he started at catcher in each of the previous three days, so Maldonado will get a turn behind the plate. Maldonado is valued for his defense, but with an .088/.140/.132 slash line and a minus-24 wRC+, he's been the league's least-productive hitter among all players with at least 100 plate appearances this season.

Lee is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Lee will get a breather for Thursday's day game after he caught all three of the White Sox's games versus the Dodgers earlier this week. Martin Maldonado checks in for Lee behind the plate.

The Red Sox reinstated Wong (personal) from the paternity list Thursday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Wong missed the maximum three games while on paternity leave and will rejoin the Red Sox ahead of Friday's series opener versus the Padres. Tyler Heineman was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to clear room on the active roster for Wong, who should settle back in as Boston's No. 1 catcher while Reese McGuire serves as the backup.

McCann went 1-for-2 with two walks in a loss to the Angels on Wednesday.

McCann made one of his relatively infrequent appearances in the starting nine and once again contributed, qualifying as the only Athletics batter to reach safely on three occasions. However, he was part of an unfortunate sequence in the second inning, when he stumbled and failed to touch home plate when attempting to score and was subsequently called out due to Armando Alvarez making contact with him in an attempt to steer McCann back to the plate. That gaffe notwithstanding, the rookie backstop has now reached safely in four consecutive games dating back to June 16, and he sports a .278 average and .804 OPS across 91 plate appearances (30 games) this season.

Manager Bud Black said Tuesday that Diaz (calf) will be out for at least another week, MLB.com reports.

Diaz has resumed baseball activities but is not sprinting at full speed and is still experiencing some soreness. The Rockies have stressed the importance of Diaz returning at full strength, so his absence could extend into the middle of July. Jacob Stallings should remain the team's primary catcher in the meantime.

Salazar went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Rockies.

Salazar was recalled June 11 to serve as depth behind the plate as Houston dealt with injuries to their top two catchers. With Victor Caratini (hip) likely sidelined through the All-Star break, Salazar should get a couple starts per week for the foreseeable future. He's gone 5-for-11 with three runs scored and four RBI since being promoted.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday the club is looking for Moreno (thumb) to return after a minimum stay on the 10-day injured list, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports. He's eligible to return next Tuesday.

Moreno, who has been hitting off a tee and playing catch, will begin ramping up Thursday. That's when he'll catch a bullpen session thrown by injured ace Zac Gallen (hamstring). After that, the catcher is scheduled for a game in the Arizona Complex League over the weekend, setting up a potential return Tuesday, when the club kicks off a three-game set on the road against the Dodgers.

Alvarez went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, three total runs and three total RBI in a 12-2 victory versus the Yankees on Wednesday.

Alvarez touched up Yankees starter Luis Gil for a two-run homer in the third inning and added a run-scoring double in the fifth. The catcher also singled for his third three-hit performance during his current nine-game hitting streak. Alvarez has been scorching during that stretch, batting .516 (16-for-31) with three home runs, nine RBI and a 7:7 BB:K. His slash line is up to an impressive .313/.383/.521 on the campaign.

Heim went 2-for-3 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 6-5 loss to Milwaukee in 10 innings.

Heim and Nathaniel Lowe hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, snapping a 12-game homerless streak for Heim. The outing was also Heim's first multi-hit game since June 5. The catcher is slashing .234/.288/.344 with seven home runs across 244 at-bats in 2024.