MLB Player News

Naylor is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Red Sox.

Naylor started each of the previous three games at catcher for the Guardians, but he'll be given some rest for the Thursday afternoon tilt. David Fry will draw the start at catcher for Cleveland.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Maldonado finds himself on the bench for a second straight day, ending a stretch of eight consecutive contests in which he and Korey Lee alternated turns behind the dish. With the White Sox sitting on a 3-21 record and the 37-year-old Maldonado having recorded just two hits in 42 at-bats on the season, it's possible that the organization will begin to start phasing him out to open up more opportunities for the 25-year-old Lee.

Lee went 1-for-2 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Twins.

Lee reached safely in two of his three plate appearances Wednesday, tagging Joe Ryan for a solo home run in the third inning and working a walk in the fifth. He stole second after the free pass, marking his first-career steal in the big leagues. After batting .077 and .160 over small samples in 2023 and 2022, respectively, Lee is off to a much better start to 2024, slashing .256/.310/.462 with five RBI and five runs scored.

Wong went 4-for-4 with a pair of homers and three total RBI in Wednesday's 8-0 victory over the Guardians.

It's the second two-homer game of Wong's career while his four hits matched a personal best. The 27-year-old catcher has been on fire lately, going 13-for-31 with four home runs in his last eight games while taking over the primary catching job in Boston. Wong's now slashing a solid .320/.327/.520 with three home runs (six shy of a career high), eight RBI and five runs scored across 51 plate appearances to open the campaign.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Maldonado has fallen into a timeshare behind the dish with Korey Lee, with both backstops having now made four starts apiece over the past eight games. Even in AL-only leagues, Maldonado won't retain much fantasy value while he's hitting .048 on the season and not even playing on a regular basis.

Raleigh isn't starting Wednesday against the Rangers after undergoing an emergency procedure to remove one of his teeth, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Raleigh reportedly played with a broken tooth during Tuesday's win and had it removed early Wednesday. Seby Zavala will start behind the plate for Seattle and bat ninth while Raleigh is sidelined.

Wong will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Guardians, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

The Red Sox will include Wong in the starting nine for the seventh time in eight games, with both of his last two starts having come against right-handed pitching. The right-handed-hitting Wong appeared to have fallen into the short side of a catching platoon with the lefty-hitting Reese McGuire earlier in the season, but Wong since looks to have re-emerged as the clear No. 1 option. With Wong maintaining an excellent .320/.327/.520 slash line with three home runs and eight RBI and his playing time now on the rise, he might be worth a look in leagues where he's still on the waiver wire.

McGuire is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

The lefty-hitting McGuire will take a seat against right-hander Carlos Carrasco and looks to have moved into a pure No. 2 role at catcher behind the righty-hitting Connor Wong, after McGuire had previously been occupying the strong side of a platoon. McGuire is on the bench for the third game in a row and for the second straight day against a right-hander, with the downturn in playing time coming while he's batted just .167 over his last nine games.

Rutschman went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Angels.

Rutschman is on a tear during his five-game hitting streak, going 11-for-24 (.458) with seven RBI in that span. All three of his hits Tuesday were singles, and he has just two extra-base hits during the active streak. Rutschman continues to cement his status as one of the top catchers in baseball with a .323/.366/.419 slash line with two home runs, 14 RBI and 15 runs scored over 101 plate appearances this season.

Langeliers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

Marcus Stroman left a breaking ball up in the strike zone in the second inning, and Langeliers launched it 414 feet to right-center field. It was the catcher's first long ball since his three-homer performance April 9 against the Rangers -- in the 11 games between those power displays, he went just 3-for-33 (.091) with a double as his only extra-base hit. On the season, Langeliers is slashing .174/.234/.406 through 77 plate appearances with five home runs and 11 RBI.