MLB Player News

Smith is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Twins.

Austin Barnes will take a turn behind the plate and bat ninth versus the Twins and right-hander Bailey Ober. Smith homered in Monday's series opener and is sitting on a stellar .323/.412/.613 batting line through 114 plate appearances this year.

Narvaez (calf) will begin a rehab assignment next week, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Narvaez has been sidelined with a strained left calf since early April but is now nearing the point where he can return to game action. It's unclear how long the Mets plan on keeping him on assignment, but we'll likely know more as he recovers.

Grandal (hamstring) is starting Tuesday against the Guardians.

Right hamstring tightness has kept Grandal out of Chicago's lineup for the past three games, but he's now ready to resume catching duties after a few days of rest. The 34-year-old backstop was slashing .296/.333/.353 in his last five games prior to injury.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Rangers.

Sean Murphy is catching and batting third, with Eddie Rosario filling the DH role and hitting fifth. D'Arnaud has gone 2-for-10 with zero extra-base hits and four strikeouts since returning last week from the concussion IL.

Jansen is starting at catcher and batting seventh for the Blue Jays on Tuesday against the Yankees, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

He'll be behind the plate for Kevin Gausman while Alejandro Kirk grabs some pine. Jansen has now started three of the last four contests.

Kirk is absent from the Blue Jays' lineup for Tuesday's tilt against the Yankees, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

Danny Jansen will catch Kevin Gausman. Kirk has seen his OPS fall to .658 after a 3-for-30 start at the plate this month.

Alvarez went 1-for-2 with two walks and a double in Monday's loss to the Nationals.

Hitting ninth against veteran southpaw Patrick Corbin, Alvarez drew multiple free passes in a game for just the second time in his brief big-league career. The 21-year-old backstop is having a fairly productive May so far, batting .257 (9-for-35) with four doubles, two homers, four RBI and four runs in 40 plate appearances, and he appears to be earning manager Buck Showalter's trust with his defensive work as well.

Wallach went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in Monday's 9-5 win over the Orioles.

Wallach was activated off the 7-day injured list and made his first start Monday since May 6. The catcher looked sharp in his return, recording his first three-hit game of the season while hitting his first home run since April 24. Matt Thaiss will likely get the bulk of starts at catcher when the Angels are facing right-handed pitching, but Wallach is the clear No. 2 with Max Stassi (personal/hip) and Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder) both unavailable for the foreseeable future.

Smith went 2-for-6 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored in Monday's victory over the Twins.

Smith and Max Muncy went back-to-back in the first inning to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Smith came around to score again on Muncy's second homer of the night in the third inning. The Dodgers' catcher is riding a six-game hitting streak and is in the midst of his best season, as he has a 1.025 OPS.

Knizner went 1-for-1 with a grand slam and two total runs in Monday's 18-1 rout of Milwaukee.

Knizner began the game on the bench, but he came in to pinch run for Paul Goldschmidt with St. Louis up by eight runs in the eighth inning. He came around to score when Nolan Gorman homered four pitches later, and Knizner then got a turn at the plate when St. Louis batted around to get back to Goldschmidt's original spot. Knizner delivered a grand slam off position player Mike Brosseau, putting the icing on a huge 10-run frame. It was the second straight game with a homer for Knizner, who went deep just once over his first 56 at-bats of the season. Though Knizner has been swinging a hot bat of late and recently completed a streak of nine consecutive starts, his playing time is expected to take a hit moving forward with the Cardinals having recommitted to Willson Contreras as their primary catcher.