MLB Player News

Smith (neck) went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run Tuesday in a minor-league rehab appearance with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Smith logged his first game action since landing on the IL in early June due to a neck injury. The All-Star backstop went hitless in his first two plate appearances Tuesday before slugging a two-run homer to left field in the fifth inning. Smith caught five frames before exiting, hitting the target that was set for him going into the contest. He's expected to play a handful of additional games in the minors before potentially returning to the big-league club at the start of September.

Fermin will start at catcher and will bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

The start for Fermin marks his fourth over the last six contests, as he may have inched back ahead of Luis Campusano in the Padres' catcher pecking order. Fermin is slashing .312/.323/.426 so far in the second half, though he's hit only one home run across 23 games.

Cavanaugh is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

With southpaw Nick Lodolo toeing the rubber for the Reds, Cavanaugh will head to the bench along with fellow left-handed batters Nate Furman, Jung Hoo Lee (elbow) and Drew Gilbert. Andrew Knizner will get the nod at catcher in place of Cavanaugh, who started behind the dish for the first two contests of the series and went 4-for-7 with a walk and two RBI.

Campusano is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Pirates.

Campusano has been in a mini 1-for-17 slump at the plate lately and has seen his playing time slip. It will be Freddy Fermin doing the catching and batting ninth for the Padres on Wednesday, marking the fourth time across the last six games that he's started over Campusano.

Stephenson is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game in San Francisco.

Stephenson will rest during Wednesday's matinee after starting each of the previous four contests. Jose Trevino will start behind the plate and bat eighth as the Reds look to avoid a sweep.

Goodman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Nationals.

Activated from the IL earlier in the day after recovering from a shoulder injury, Goodman quickly proved his health by launching an Andrew Alvarez fastball into the left-field seats to lead off the fourth inning. It was the 35th homer of the season for the slugging backstop, and in 24 games since the All-Star break he sports a .237/.295/.575 slash line with eight long balls, 11 runs and 19 RBI.

Cavanaugh went 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBI in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Reds.

Cavanaugh's two-run single in the first inning was ultimately all the offense the Giants needed to get this win. The catcher has had a few encouraging games this month, logging multiple hits in four of 14 contests in August, but he also has a 4:12 BB:K in that span. For the season, he's batting .253 with a .616 OPS, no home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored, one double and one stolen base over 107 plate appearances.

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with the Mariners.

Despite being in the midst of a modest four-game hitting streak, including a homer during Monday's series opener, Realmuto will ride the pine Tuesday. The Phillies will send Garrett Stubbs behind the plate and have him bat ninth in the lineup.

Kelly is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Despite launching a solo shot in the series opener Monday, Kelly will sit out Tuesday's matchup. The Cubs will send out Miguel Amaya to handle the catching duties and bat ninth.

Smith (neck) is scheduled to catch five innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

It will be Smith's first game action since he went down in early June due to neck inflammation. The Dodgers will ease him into action, working him up to catching a complete game. The goal is to have the 31-year-old ready by Sept. 1, which is when MLB rosters expand.