MLB Player News

Fermin is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Fermin will head to the bench after he served as the Royals' starting catcher in four of the past five games. Salvador Perez, who started at first base and designated hitter in the last two contests, will move behind the plate Wednesday.

Zavala will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Zavala will be making his sixth start behind the plate in seven games, though Yasmani Grandal was simultaneously included in the lineup at first base for one of those contests. For the third game in a row, however, Grandal finds himself on the bench, so unless he's dealing with an unreported illness or injury, he appears to have ceded the No. 1 catcher's role to Zavala. Given that Zavala is getting on base at a .133 clip in 10 games since the All-Star break, he's not yet doing anything to run away with the job.

Grandal is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rangers.

Grandal hasn't drawn a start since Saturday, though he came off the bench Tuesday and there's no word of any new physical issue. Seby Zavala will catch again and bat ninth Wednesday versus Texas.

Bethancourt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees.

Rene Pinto will start at catcher for the Rays and bat ninth. Bethancourt has gone 1-for-21 (.048) over his last nine games and is slashing just .130/.200/.152 in 50 plate appearances since the beginning of July.

Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

He'll pick up a second consecutive start in place of J.T. Realmuto, who is nursing a hand injury after getting spiked by a Marlins player in Monday's 4-2 win. The Phillies haven't suggested that Realmuto is at risk of landing on the 10-day injured list, so Stubbs may not be in line for an extended run as the team's No. 1 backstop. Despite being on the active roster all season, Stubbs enters Tuesday's contest with just 70 plate appearances to his name while Realmuto has been one of the majors' more heavily-used catchers.

Realmuto (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

He'll take a seat for the second day in a row while he continues to heal up from the gash he sustained to his throwing hand when a Marlins player slid into home plate in Monday's 4-2 win. Garrett Stubbs will fill in for Realmuto behind the dish for a second straight night.

Higashioka is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.

Ben Rortvedt will start behind the plate and bat ninth after Higashioka went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Tuesday as his season slash line fell to .225/.259/.376. Higashioka should still be the Yankees' primary catcher the rest of the way with Jose Trevino (wrist) officially done for the year.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

The Marlins' catcher timeshare has lately tilted in favor of Nick Fortes, who will pick up his fourth start in six games Wednesday. Stallings has posted a lowly .550 OPS since the All-Star break, which is right in line with his season-long mark (.560).

San Diego optioned Sullivan to Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.

Sullivan did not appear in a game during his latest brief stint with the Padres and has batted just .170/.184/.298 across 49 major-league plate appearances this year. Luis Campusano and Gary Sanchez remain locked in as the catching tandem in San Diego.

Fry will start at first base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game at Houston.

Fry will be making his second consecutive start at first base while Josh Naylor (side) remains out of the lineup, but the Guardians could have room in the starting nine for both players once Naylor is back to 100 percent health. Naylor and Josh Bell had been sharing first base and designated hitter duties this season, but the Guardians now have a permanent opening in the lineup after trading Bell to the Marlins on Tuesday. In addition to first base, Fry has picked up starts at catcher, third base, left field and right field, so he'll have multiple pathways to regular playing time even if the Guardians choose to rotate a number of players at the DH spot rather than settling on a primary option.