MLB Player News

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.

Kirk will hit the bench Saturday against the Rays.

Kirk augmented his time behind the plate last season with 49 starts at designated hitter, but his bat has dropped off this season to the point that he's been mostly stuck splitting time with Danny Jansen at catcher. He's been back in an expanded role in September with Jansen out with a broken finger, starting eight of the previous nine games, but it will be Tyler Heineman who starts Saturday.

Alvarez will sit for the second straight game Saturday against the Phillies.

One would expect a 71-83 team to maximize at-bats for its 21-year-old catcher of the future down the stretch, but it's instead been 31-year-old impending free agent Omar Narvaez to start three of the last four games behind the plate. Perhaps the Mets simply don't want to tax Alvarez's knees too much at the end of a long season. The rookie's .213/.286/.433 season slash line is good for a 97 wRC+, a perfectly acceptable mark for a catcher, but he's managed just a .171/.269/.291 line (60 wRC+) since the start of August, which suggests he could use a break.

Pinto isn't in the Rays' lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.

After going 0-for-7 with three strikeouts across his last two games, Pinto will take a seat Saturday as Christian Bethancourt starts behind the plate and bats eighth.

Rogers is not in the lineup Saturday against the Athletics.

Rogers gets back-to-back days off after going 0-for-4 during Thursday's win over Oakland. Carson Kelly will start behind the dish in his place and will bat eighth.

Wong is not in the lineup Saturday against the White Sox.

Reese McGuire will start at catcher and bat ninth Saturday. Wong is 1-for-his-last-12 and the 27-year-old has also not reached base in the last three games.