MLB Player News

Naylor isn't in the Guardians' lineup Sunday versus Texas, Andre Knott of Bally Sports Ohio reports.

Naylor will take a seat Sunday versus left-hander Martin Perez, allowing David Fry to start behind the dish and bat sixth.

Bethancourt isn't in the Rays' lineup Sunday against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt has essentially alternated starts with Francisco Mejia all season, and Sunday will bring up Mejia's turn behind the plate. Bethancourt is slashing just .167/.211/.167 across 19 plate appearances since the beginning of July.

Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

The 23-year-old started Friday in the Diamondbacks' first game back from the break and extracted a bit of revenge against the team that traded him this past winter, homering as part of a two-hit effort. However, that was not enough to earn him another start in the series. Carson Kelly will catch for starter Tommy Henry on Sunday.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Murphy will get a breather for the series finale after going 0-for-9 in his first two games back from the All-Star break. Of course Murphy didn't get much of a break -- he started the All-Star Game for the National League and caught several innings -- so he could probably use the day off more than most. Travis d'Arnaud will catch for starter Kolby Allard.

Mejia went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored across both games of Saturday's doubleheader against the Royals.

Mejia drew the start in the first game of the doubleheader and blasted his fourth homer of the season -- three of which have come in his last 16 games. However, he's hit only .200 in that span and has started only five of the Rays' last 15 games while losing out on playing time to Christian Bethancourt.

Perez went 5-for-8 with a double over both games of Saturday's doubleheader versus Tampa Bay.

Perez was a perfect 4-for-4 in Game 1, notching his first four-hit effort of the campaign. It was a promising start to the second half after the veteran catcher sputtered to a 4-for-43 mark and failed to hit a home run over his final 12 games before the All-Star break. Perez's double in the matinee of the twin bill was his first extra-base hit of any kind since he slugged a long ball June 23 against the Rays.

Herrera went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a hit-by-pitch in Saturday's 9-6 win over the Nationals.

Herrera has done everything asked of him so far, going 6-for-12 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored over his three games while filling in for Andrew Knizner (groin) on the 26-man roster. Herrera's playing time has been limited with Willson Contreras occupying a starting role, but John Denton of MLB.com reports manager Oliver Marmol is considering keeping three catchers around once Knizner is activated from the injured list.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the Angels.

Diaz was out of the lineup for Houston's first game after the All-Star break, but he returned to hit seventh and serve as the designated hitter Saturday. He entered the game in a short-term slump, having hit just .216 across his previous 10 contests and 37 at-bats. Diaz has shown some impressive power across 193 plate appearances this season by maintaining a .224 ISO. However, he boasts just a 2.6 percent walk rate, limiting him to a .285 on-base percentage. It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to keep him in the lineup regularly as the catcher once Yordan Alvarez (oblique) is able to return.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's victory over the Reds.

Contreras clubbed his second long ball of July on Saturday via a solo homer off lefty Andrew Abbott in the fourth inning. The catcher extended his hit streak to nine games. Over that stretch, Contreras is batting 17-for-38 (.447) with seven RBI and seven runs scored. Entering Saturday's tilt, Contreras owned a massive .277 ISO against southpaws in 2023.

O'Hoppe (shoulder) hit off a tee Saturday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

O'Hoppe began taking dry swings July 4 and has now taken another step forward. A return before the end of August is considered a best-case scenario for the rookie catcher, although it's possible the Angels will hold him out for the rest of the season if they're not in playoff contention. O'Hoppe is coming back from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder.