MLB Player News
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Ben Rortvedt C | TB
Rays' Ben Rortvedt: Resting against lefty
Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.
As is often the case, the lefty-hitting Rortvedt will retreat to the bench while the opposition sends a lefty (Framber Valdez) to the hill. Alex Jackson will fill in for Rortvedt behind the plate.
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Bo Naylor C | CLE
Guardians' Bo Naylor: Idle versus lefty
Naylor is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cubs.
With southpaw Shota Imanaga taking the hill for the Cubs, the lefty-hitting Naylor will retreat to the bench in the series opener. Austin Hedges will fill in for Naylor behind the dish.
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Carson Kelly C | TEX
Rangers' Carson Kelly: Clubs eighth homer
Kelly went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and an additional run scored during Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Yankees.
Kelly started the final two games of the series and was productive in both contests, going 4-for-8 with a walk, a homer, four RBI and three runs. The 30-year-old was acquired ahead of the trade deadline and was expected to serve as the primary backup to starting catcher Jonah Heim, but Kelly has started five of Texas' 10 games since being acquired. Kelly has a .738 OPS for the season and has gone 6-for-17 with the Rangers, which is significantly more productive than Heim's .619 OPS this year. Kelly could continue carving out a larger share of the playing time if those offensive trends continue.
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Matt Thaiss C | LAA
Angels' Matt Thaiss: Gets on base five times Sunday
Thaiss went 2-for-2 with three walks and a stolen base in a 6-4 win over Washington on Sunday.
Thaiss got the start behind the plate with Logan O'Hoppe getting a rest day. The former made the most of the opportunity, setting a season high with three walks and notching his sixth multi-hit game of the campaign. O'Hoppe is firmly entrenched as the Angels' primary catcher, but Thaiss has been hitting well since the start of July despite limited playing time, slashing .333/.439/.394 with six RBI, three stolen bases and a 7:8 BB:K over 10 games. The strong stretch could see him get more at-bats at DH, as he did Saturday against the Nationals.
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Swats two homers
Raleigh went 3-for-5 with two homers, a walk and five RBI in Sunday's win over the Mets.
Raleigh opened the game up with a two-run blast in the fourth off Luis Severino to make it a 4-0 lead for the Mariners. He then completely put the game out of reach with a three-run homer against Adam Ottavino in the sixth. Both home runs came on the first pitch of his respective at-bats. Raleigh has now reached 25-plus home runs in three straight seasons and is the first catcher to do that since Mike Piazza had eight consecutive seasons from 1995-2002. Following Sunday's performance, Raleigh now leads all catchers with a 3.6 fWAR. For the year, Raleigh is slashing .217/.310/.448 with 26 homers, 76 RBI, 52 runs and a 50:134 BB:K in 449 plate appearances.
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Tyler Stephenson C | CIN
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Continues raking
Stephenson went 2-for-3 with a solo home run during Sunday's 4-3 win over the Brewers.
Stephenson took DL Hall yard for a solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning, putting Cincinnati ahead 3-2. The long ball was Stephenson's fourth in August, and he's batting 10-for-32 (.313) with nine RBI during the month. He's slashing .248/.327/.454 on the year.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | ATL
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Goes yard Sunday
D'Arnaud went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 9-8 loss to Colorado.
D'Arnaud was in an 0-for-10 skid at the plate before lifting a two-run blast in the fourth inning to extend Atlanta's lead to 3-0. The catcher has five homers among 13 hits over his last 12 contests, and he's added nine RBI and nine runs scored in that span. For the year, he's maintained a .252/.312/.473 slash line with 12 homers, 37 RBI, 31 runs scored, one stolen base and 14 doubles over 76 contests.
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Dillon Dingler C | DET
Tigers' Dillon Dingler: Hits first MLB home run
Dingler went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants
Dingler collected his first home run and first multi-hit game at the MLB level. Through seven appearances, the rookie catcher is now batting .208 with a .727 OPS. Dingler is splitting time behind the plate with Jake Rogers, though the latter is mired in a 1-for-23 slump. As a result, Dingler could take on a larger share of the work at least in the short term, which would give his fantasy value a slight boost.
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Christian Vazquez C | MIN
Twins' Christian Vazquez: Three hits in Sunday's loss
Vazquez went 3-for-4 with two doubles in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Guardians.
Despite twice putting himself in scoring position, the Twins couldn't bring Vazquez home in any of his three trips on base. The catcher continues to swing a hot bat, going 13-for-31 (.419) over his last 10 contests. Vazquez is slashing .225/.257/.352 with six home runs, 22 RBI, 21 runs scored and three stolen bases over 67 games this year, but he's been much more productive at the plate than fellow backstop Ryan Jeffers in recent weeks, though the two catchers remain in an even timeshare.
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Austin Barnes C | LAD
Dodgers' Austin Barnes: Returns to bench role
Barnes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.
Barnes picked up his 32nd start of the season in Saturday's 4-1 win, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while filling in for a resting Will Smith. With Smith back in action for Sunday's series finale, Barnes will return to his usual bench role.