MLB Player News

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.

O'Hoppe isn't in the Angels' lineup Saturday against the Twins, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

After belting a two-run homer during Friday's loss, O'Hoppe will get a day to rest while Chad Wallach starts behind the plate and bats eighth.

O'Hoppe went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's loss to Minnesota.

O'Hoppe brought the Angels to within three runs with his two-run shot to left field in the eighth inning, though the team's rally ultimately fell short. The long ball was the 12th of the season for the backstop, who missed nearly four months between late April and late August with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. O'Hoppe has struggled with a .189/.232/.443 slash line over 28 games since returning, though he's kept up the power with eight homers over that span.