MLB Player News

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.

Ruiz will hit the bench for the fourth time in six games while the Nationals go with Drew Millas behind the dish. Though the playing time has been tilting in Millas' favor of late, Ruiz has been the better producer at the plate by a narrow margin. Ruiz has turned in a .516 OPS over 58 plate appearances, while Millas has provided a .422 OPS across 55 plate appearances.

Alvarez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's tilt versus the Nationals.

Alvarez was behind the dish for each of the Mets' last three games, so he'll get a breather for Thursday's matinee. Luis Torrens is doing the catching and batting eighth in the rubber match.

Hicks went 1-for-2 with two walks and a solo home run in Wednesday's win over the Dodgers.

The 26-year-old sat out Tuesday's game due to an illness, but Hicks looked pretty healthy in his return to action when he led off the second inning by launching a Tyler Glasnow offering down the right-field line for his seventh homer of the year. It was Hicks' third long ball in his last four starts, and on the season he continues to boast an impressive .315/.365/.576 slash line over 104 plate appearances with one steal, 18 runs and 28 RBI -- tied with Matt Olson for second in the National League behind Sal Stewart's 29.

Sullivan went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, three RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 13-2 win over the Reds.

Sullivan jumpstarted Colorado's big offensive day with a bases-clearing double in the first inning, then added another double in the seventh as part of a three-hit performance. The catcher has shown surprising extra-base ability early this season, already collecting six extra-base hits in just 47 plate appearances after tallying only five across his first 142 MLB plate appearances. Sullivan is now slashing an impressive .289/.319/.422 with six doubles, seven RBI and two runs scored.

Del Castillo went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.

Del Castillo's blast got the Diamondbacks on the board in the fourth inning. The catcher had gone 0-for-7 with two walks and three strikeouts over his last three games. Overall, he's batting just .222 with a .652 OPS, two homers, 11 RBI, six runs scored, three doubles and no stolen bases over 57 plate appearances. He's shared the catching duties with James McCann lately, but Del Castillo is likely to see a drop in playing time once Gabriel Moreno (oblique) returns, which is expected to happen during Arizona's series versus the Cubs this weekend.

Millas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Millas had started in three of the previous four games, but he'll give way to Keibert Ruiz on Wednesday. The playing time between the two backstops has been split fairly evenly throughout the season, with Ruiz drawing 16 starts to Millas' 15.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Jose Trevino will receive a turn behind the dish while Stephenson rests in the penultimate game of the series. Stephenson had started in eight of the Reds' previous 10 games, going 4-for-28 (.143 average) with three RBI over that stretch.

Pages is out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Pittsburgh.

Ivan Herrera has been the personal catcher for Andre Pallante this season, so Herrera will step in behind the dish Wednesday while Pages gets a breather. Pages could check back into the lineup for Thursday's series finale.

Campusano will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Campusano will stick behind the plate for the third time in four games while Freddy Fermin sits. Though Fermin has operated as the Padres' No. 1 catcher for much of the season, Campusano may be starting to turn the position into more of a timeshare arrangement due to his hot hitting. Since the calendar flipped to April, Campusano has hit .385 with three home runs, seven doubles, 10 RBI and eight runs over 13 games.

Kelly is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

He'll sit for the second time in the series while Miguel Amaya receives another start behind the plate in the finale in San Diego. Unless he ends up being used off the bench Wednesday, Kelly will finish April with a robust .317/.419/.476 slash line to go with two home runs, seven RBI and 12 runs over 18 games.