MLB Player News

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

It's the second straight game on the bench for Maldonado, though he's still started behind the plate in four of Houston's past seven contests. Yainer Diaz will step in to catch for Hunter Brown on Sunday.

Rodriguez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Cincinnati, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rodriguez started the past three games and will receive a breather for Sunday's series finale. Jason Delay will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.

Naylor (thumb) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.

The 23-year-old was removed from Friday's contest with a bruised right thumb and will sit Sunday for the second straight game. David Fry will work behind the plate in the series finale versus Baltimore with Naylor banged up.

Ruiz is not in the lineup for Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader versus Atlanta, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz was never likely to start both games of Sunday's twin bill, and he'll take a seat for the matinee. Drew Millas will work behind the plate in Game 1 with Ruiz likely to start the nightcap.

The Royals reinstated Perez from the 7-day concussion IL on Sunday.

Perez landed on the 7-day IL last Monday after taking a foul tip off his mask, but he will return after a minimum-length stay. He'll bat third and serve as Kansas City's designated hitter in his return Sunday while Logan Porter starts behind the dish. Tyler Cropley was optioned to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.

Heim went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in Saturday's 2-0 win over Seattle.

Heim extended his hit streak to four consecutive games with a run-producing single in the fourth inning. In addition to hits in four straight, Heim has driven in a run in all four. The catcher is 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run, seven RBI and four runs scored during that stretch. Heim is up to 92 RBI over 123 games on the season.

Stephenson went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk and three total RBI in Saturday's loss to the Pirates.

Stephenson was part of an early offensive outburst by the Reds, hitting a solo homer in the first inning and adding a two-run double in the second. He had been struggling coming into the contest, going 4-for-34 over his previous 10 contests. Despite the recent struggles, Stephenson has recorded career-best marks with 12 homers and 53 RBI over 137 games this season.

Smith will sit Saturday against the Giants, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers have gone with a pattern of two starts for Smith followed by one start for Austin Barnes for most of the last month. If the pattern continues, we'll see Smith start Sunday and then four more times over the final week. The Dodgers are all but locked into the second seed in the National League, however, trailing Atlanta by 4.5 games while leading Milwaukee by 6.5, which could result in additional off days for the team's regulars over the final week.

Naylor (thumb) isn't in Cleveland's lineup Saturday versus Baltimore.

Naylor bruised his right thumb during Friday's game and had to make an early exit in the fifth inning. He'll remain out Saturday, allowing Cam Gallagher to start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Maldonado will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Royals.

Maldonado is hitting .189/.258/.343 on the season and has graded out five runs worse than any other catcher at framing pitches (per Statcast). Even with rookie backstop Yainer Diaz breaking out to the tune of a .286/.310/.551 slash line, Maldonado remains Houston's primary catcher, though his off day Saturday means he only has a 5-4 advantage in starts over the last nine games.