MLB Player News
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Jimmy Crooks C | STL
Cardinals' Jimmy Crooks: Sitting again Sunday
Crooks is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
The left-handed-hitting Crooks is on the bench for the fourth time in five games, with three of those absences coming against right-handed starting pitchers. He's mustered an uninspiring .157/.246/.255 slash line over 57 plate appearances since being called up from Triple-A Memphis on May 29. Until Crooks begins to pick up the pace at the plate, he could be in store for a limited role as part of a three-way timeshare at catcher with Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera.
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Drake Baldwin C | ATL
Braves' Drake Baldwin: Serving as DH
Baldwin is batting fifth as the designated hitter Sunday against the Giants.
It's the 10th start in 11 games since Baldwin returned from the injured list in mid-June. The 25-year-old homered in his first game back from the oblique strain but overall has struggled, going 2-for-39 with a walk and 20 strikeouts. That poor stretch has lowered his OPS for the season from .931 to .813 through 58 contests.
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Joe Mack C | MIA
Marlins' Joe Mack: Getting rest Sunday
Mack is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Mack went 1-for-7 with a walk and two runs while starting behind the plate in the first two games of the series. He'll be given a breather for the finale in St. Louis, clearing the way for Brian Navarreto to make a start at catcher.
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Carson Kelly C | CHC
Cubs' Carson Kelly: Taking seat Sunday
Kelly is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
He'll give way to Miguel Amaya behind the dish in the series finale. Kelly started at catcher in the first two tilts in Milwaukee and went 1-for-6 with two walks and a double.
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Gabriel Moreno C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno: Getting afternoon off
Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.
Adrian Del Castillo will receive a turn behind the plate while Moreno rests for the series finale. Moreno had started the last four contests, going 5-for-14 with two walks, two runs and an RBI while extending his hitting streak to a season-long 11 games.
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Henry Davis C | PIT
Pirates' Henry Davis: Getting third start in four games
Davis will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Reds.
Davis will claim his third start in four games after going 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBI and two additional runs in his previous three contests. He looks to have worked his way into a timeshare at catcher with Endy Rodriguez, who has been the far better performer of the two through the halfway point of the season.
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Endy Rodriguez C | PIT
Pirates' Endy Rodriguez: On bench Sunday
Rodriguez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
The 26-year-old is on the bench for the third time in four games and looks to be part of a timeshare at catcher with Henry Davis. Rodriguez has been the far better producer of the two this season, submitting an .823 OPS in 99 plate appearances with the Pirates. Davis, meanwhile, has delivered a .558 OPS over 157 plate appearances.
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William Contreras C | MIL
Brewers' William Contreras: Resting up Sunday
Contreras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
The Brewers will hand Contreras a breather in the series finale after he had started at catcher or designated hitter in each of the club's last eight games. Gary Sanchez will step in behind the plate Sunday and form a battery with starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff.
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Dalton Rushing C | LAD
Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: Solo shot in Saturday's rout
Rushing went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's 15-3 win over the Padres.
Rushing entered the contest having gone 0-for-12 over his previous five games. He started off quiet Saturday, but he then went back-to-back with Kyle Tucker during the Dodgers' sixth-inning rally. The homer was Rushing's first since June 7 versus the Angels. The catcher is batting .240 with an .800 OPS, nine homers, 23 RBI, 22 runs scored, seven doubles and no stolen bases over 49 contests this season.
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Hunter Goodman C | COL
Rockies' Hunter Goodman: Crushes three homers in win
Goodman went 3-for-5 with three home runs and five RBI in an 8-5 victory against Minnesota on Saturday.
Goodman was a force to be reckoned with in the win, producing the first three-homer game of his career. None of the long balls were cheap shots -- each was estimated at over 400 feet. Goodman has racked up four homers and eight RBI over his past two games, and he now leads all MLB catchers with 25 home runs on the season. The Rockies record for homers in a campaign is 49 (set by Larry Walker in 1997 and Todd Helton in 2002), and given that the team is only 83 games into the current season, Goodman has a legitimate chance of challenging that franchise mark if he keeps up a similar pace.