MLB Player News

Alvarez is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Giants, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez will take a seat after he went 1-for-10 with an RBI, a walk and three strikeouts during the team's series with the Brewers. Omar Narvaez will draw the start behind the plate and bat ninth in the series opener with San Francisco.

Vazquez is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Orioles.

Vazquez will take a seat after he went 0-for-4 with two walks and a strikeout while starting two games during the team's series with Atlanta. Ryan Jeffers will draw the start at catcher and bat seventh in the series opener with Baltimore.

Tromp was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

He was up as a third catcher while Sean Murphy dealt with a hamstring injury, but now that the team's starting backstop appears to be in the clear, Tromp is no longer needed. He's gone 2-for-16 at the plate during his time in the majors in 2023.

Caratini went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Thursday's 3-2 win against the Mets.

Caratini was the only Brewer with multiple hits in the contest, and his two-run shot off Max Scherzer in the sixth inning provided the bulk of Milwaukee's output in the narrow victory. With William Contreras entrenched as the team's primary backstop, Caratini has been on the bench more often than not of late -- his start Thursday was his first over Milwaukee's past four games. Caratini has made the most of his limited opportunities in June, slashing .344/.389/.531 with two homers, seven RBI, six runs and a stolen base over 10 contests.

Diaz went 3-for-6 with two doubles and one RBI in Thursday's 14-0 win over the Cardinals.

Diaz has six multi-hit efforts over 20 games in June, and he's batting .313 (25-for-80) for the month. His strong hitting has helped him force his way into the lineup on a regular basis, splitting time between designated hitter and catcher. Diaz has maintained a .275/.287/.500 slash line with seven home runs, 11 doubles, 17 RBI and 16 runs scored over 150 plate appearances. His walk rate remains low at 2.0 percent, which may make his recent success hard to sustain.

Smith is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rockies.

This appears to be a routine night off for Smith, who handled the catching duties in the first two games of the Dodgers' three-game set at Coors Field and drew a trio of walks Wednesday. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate and bat ninth in Thursday's series finale.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Thursday at St. Louis.

Yainer Diaz will catch and bat fifth versus the Cardinals and right-hander Adam Wainwright. Bligh Madris is serving as the Astros' designated hitter and batting seventh.

Contreras is not in the lineup Thursday against the Mets.

Victor Caratini will start behind the plate and bat sixth after Contreras handled catching duties in the first three games of the Brewers' four-game set at Citi Field.

Toronto activated Kirk (hand) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

It was a minimum stay on the IL as Kirk recovered from a laceration and bruise on his left hand. Maybe the time off can function as a reset of sorts for the 24-year-old catcher and designated hitter, who has posted an underwhelming .253/.337/.331 slash line with three home runs and 21 RBI through 59 games this season.

Toronto optioned Heineman to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.

Alejandro Kirk (hand) is back from the 10-day injured list, so Heineman was no longer needed as depth at the catcher position. The 32-year-old holds a weak .217/.290/.277 career batting line in 266 major-league plate appearances.