MLB Player News

The Astros placed Caratini (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Wednesday.

After taking foul balls off his catcher's mask Sunday and Tuesday, Caratini entered concussion protocol Wednesday and will now officially miss at least a week of action. Cesar Salazar was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to fill in as Houston's backup catcher, though he will get the start behind home plate Wednesday against the Rockies while top backstop Yainer Diaz manages a hand injury.

Caratini is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies and is being evaluated for a concussion, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The veteran catcher has taken a couple foul balls off his mask recently and is now in danger of landing on the injured list. Cesar Salazar is starting behind the plate Wednesday and will operate as the backup to Yainer Diaz (hand) while Caratini is unavailable.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies due to a hand injury, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old was withheld from the lineup for Tuesday's contest and will sit for a second straight game due to the injury. With Diaz down and Victor Caratini in the concussion protocol, Cesar Salazar was promoted from Triple-A Sugar Land and will get the start behind the plate Wednesday.

The Astros recalled Salazar from Triple-A Sugar Land on Wednesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Salazar was up with the big club briefly earlier this season, going 1-for-7 at the dish. He'll temporarily step in as the Astros' No. 2 catcher behind Yainer Diaz (hand) after Victor Caratini (concussion) was placed on the 7-day injured list Wednesday.

Kirk is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Twins due to a right hand injury, though X-rays came back negative, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kirk's hand swelled up after it was hit by a foul tip during Tuesday's contest. He finished that game, however, and has managed to avoid any fractures. It's not clear whether Kirk will be available off the bench Wednesday, but he should have a good shot to return to the lineup Friday against the Brewers following the team's off day Thursday.

Narvaez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

He'll hit the bench for the second time in the series while the Red Sox give Connor Wong a look behind the plate. Narvaez has had a stranglehold on the No. 1 catching job for most of the season, but his job security might have slipped a bit while his production has fallen off during the second half. Since the All-Star break, Narvaez is slashing just .158/.210/.316 with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate over 21 games.

Kirk is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Twins.

Kirk will get a routine night off after he started at catcher in the first two games of the series. Tyler Heineman will be behind the dish and bat eighth for the Blue Jays.

Hedges will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Hedges will pick up his 43rd start of the season while top backstop Bo Naylor rests for the day game after a night game. Though Hedges continues to bring value through his game-calling abilities, he's remained an easy out at the plate in his age-32 season, slashing .140/.232/.240 across 141 plate appearances.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

The Guardians will hold Naylor out of the starting nine for the matinee contest, after the catcher was behind the plate for all nine innings of a 3-0 win Tuesday night. Austin Hedges will get the nod at catcher in the series finale.

Teel went 3-for-4 with an RBI on Tuesday against the Royals.

Teel has gotten on track at the plate since mid-August, and he's now recorded multiple hits in seven of his last 12 games. In that span, he's hit .419 with two home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs scored. Teel remains the White Sox's primary catcher, though he's also started six games at designated hitter since the start of August, limiting the amount of time he's been out of the lineup.