MLB Player News

Stephenson went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Friday's 19-2 win over St. Louis.

Stephenson's 13th home run of the season was the Reds' third of the fourth inning and sixth and final long ball of the night, leaving the team one shy of matching a single-game franchise record. Though the Reds are one of the few teams in baseball still competing for a playoff spot in the final series of the regular season, Stephenson isn't necessarily a lock to start behind the dish Saturday and Sunday. He and Luke Maile have been splitting work at catcher of late, with the latter starting four games to Stephenson's three over the past seven contests.

Ruiz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs in Friday's 10-6 win over Atlanta.

Ruiz extend his hit streak to five games with a single in the fourth inning, then kicked off the scoring in the Nationals' three-run sixth inning with his 18th home run of the season. The young backstop has rebounded from a slow start to the season to emerge as a low-end No. 1 catcher or high-end No. 2 catcher in most 12-team mixed leagues -- roughly in line with how he had been valued heading into the season. He's hitting .291 in the second half and has provided nine of his 18 home runs and 32 of his 63 RBI since the All-Star break.

Kirk went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional RBI in Friday's 11-4 win over the Rays.

Kirk got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning with his eighth long ball of the season and added a single an inning later to give him his second two-hit game in as many contests. With Danny Jansen (finger) landing on the injured list Sept. 2 and still without a clear timeline for a return, Kirk has been locked in as the Blue Jays' No. 1 catcher for most of the month. He's posted a .732 OPS to go with 10 RBI and eight runs over 26 games in September.

Naylor is not in the lineup Saturday against the Tigers.

Naylor will be on the bench for the fourth time in six games. He went 3-for-7 in the two games he appeared in during that stretch. If the catcher does not play Saturday, the 23-year-old will finish September with an 1.144 OPS and four home runs. Cam Gallagher will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Rogers is not in the lineup Saturday against the Guardians.

Rogers will sit in the penultimate game of the season after going 2-for-4 against the Guardians on Friday. Barring an appearance off the bench, he will finish with a slash line of .297/.531/.849 and five home runs in September. Carson Kelly will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Jeffers went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 7-6 win over the Rockies.

The backstop followed a Trevor Larnach home run in the seventh with a homer of his own to tie the game for the Twins. The long ball was Jeffers' third in four games and 14th of the season, which matches a career high. It remains to be seen how the Twins plan to divvy up the playing time between Jeffers and Christian Vazquez once the playoffs begin next week, but both have been in the lineup two of the last three games, with each getting one start at DH.

Perez went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, three RBI and a run scored in Friday's 12-5 win over the Yankees.

Perez collected two hits and drove in two runs in the first inning alone to continue a red-hot September. The veteran catcher is closing out his season on a high note, hitting .319 with three homers, 21 RBI and seven runs scored over 72 at-bats this month.

Wells went 1-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Friday's 12-5 loss against the Royals.

Wells launched a three-run shot in the fourth inning and later added an RBI groundout. His four home runs in the majors this season have all come in his last seven games to go along with nine RBI, five runs scored, and a .296 batting average over 27 at-bats.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 7-5 victory over the Tigers.

Naylor added to the Guardians' lead when he scorched a 404-foot home run off Joey Wentz in the second inning. The rookie catcher has caught fire in September, sporting a .333 batting average with four homers, four steals, 14 runs and 13 RBI over 51 at-bats. Naylor is slashing .244/.347/.482 with 11 homers, five steals, 33 runs and 32 RBI in 65 big-league games this year.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-2 win over the Giants.

Smith got the scoring started with his first-inning blast. The catcher has struggled a bit lately, going just 5-for-36 (.139) over his last 10 games, though he's still managed five RBI in that span. For the season, he's posted a .259/.357/.437 slash line with 19 long balls, 76 RBI, 79 runs scored, three stolen bases, 21 doubles and two triples over 125 games.