MLB Player News

Mesoraco remains out of the lineup Saturday against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The team has not given any indication Mesoraco is ailing, but this is his second straight absence, so something seems amiss. That said, it's possible manager Bryan Price just decided to give the 27-year-old a couple days to sit back and observe after a dismal start to the season (.378 OPS). The Reds have been hurting for runs and need Mesoraco to get going.

Plawecki is out of the lineup Saturday against the Giants.

He was due to get a day off after starting the last three games at catcher. The scouting reports on Plawecki suggest he can be an average hitter for the position, but he has not yet shown that kind of promise on the field in limited samplings. Rene Rivera will start at catcher and hit eighth Saturday.

Grandal went 2-for-4 with a solo homer Friday against the Padres.

Grandal's first home run of the season tied the game in the sixth inning of a game the Dodgers would go on to lose. After going six games without an extra-base hit, he's now collected them in back-to-back games to bring his slash line to .300/.440/.500.

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Brewers.

Realmuto gets the night off Friday after catching each of the last seven games for the Marlins. Jeff Mathis will take over behind the plate in his stead Friday but Realmuto figures to get back into the lineup for Game 2 of the Marlins' series with the Brewers on Saturday.

Mesoraco is out of the lineup Friday against the Pirates.

He has been playing every other day for the past week, and has been completely ineffective offensively, slashing .140/.218/.160. Tucker Barnhart will start at catcher and hit sixth Friday.

Barnes continued his hot streak Thursday, going 1-for-4 with a walk against Omaha.

Barnes has been on a tear at Triple-A Oklahoma City since being sent down by the Dodgers on April 15. The young catcher has a .333/.488/.455 slash line to go along with nine walks in nine games. After a tough start to the season while in the majors, Barnes has clearly found his swing and is an intriguing prospect for a Dodgers team struggling in run production.

Realmuto hit his second homer of the year as part of a 2-for-4 evening with two runs scored against the Dodgers on Thursday.

Not a week ago, he was hitting .188; in the span of five games, Realmuto's racked up 10 hits in 19 at-bats, raising that average nearly 100 points to .284. That's April sample sizes for you. The 25-year-old catcher has been a workhorse early on, appearing in 18 of the Marlins' 21 games so far -- an amount of playing time that should keep him quite relevant across the majority of fantasy formats.

Grandal is out of the lineup Wednesday against Miami, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

The Dodgers are taking on lefthanded starter Justin Nicolino on Wednesday, which has resulted in the decision to start A.J. Ellis behind the plate. As a switch-hitter, Grandal is a far better hitter from the left side of the plate (.167 against lefties, .296 against righties), so Wednesday's matchup against Nicolino provides Los Angeles with an ideal opportunity to give Grandal a day off.

Hedges (hand) will undergo surgery on his hand and will be out four-to-six weeks, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges was originally given a timetable of six-to-eight weeks, but apparently things are better than initially expected, which could allow the catcher to return a bit sooner. Hedges was performing well with Triple-A El Paso, batting .333 with two home runs, so if he can return to that form and prove that his bat is on par with his defense, he could get the call to the big leagues once he's healthy.

Rupp is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports.

This appears to be a regular say off for Rupp despite the fact that he's holding a modest six-game hit streak. Carlos Ruiz will catch and bat fifth with him out of the lineup.