MLB Player News
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Nick Fortes C | TB
Hunter Feduccia C | TB
Rays' Nick Fortes: Idle again Sunday
Fortes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Fortes will be on the bench for the second straight day while Hunter Feduccia receives another turn behind the plate. Despite his consecutive absences, Fortes still appears to be the Rays' preferred option at catcher, as he holds a 268-point edge in OPS over Feduccia on the season.
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Carson Kelly C | CHC
Cubs' Carson Kelly: Delivers key pinch-hit home run
Kelly went 1-for-1 with a three-run home run off the bench in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Mets.
The veteran catcher initially received the day off with Miguel Amaya starting behind the plate, but Kelly was called on to pinch hit against lefty Brooks Raley in the sixth inning and responded with his second home run of the year, breaking a 1-1 tie. Kelly has an outstanding .970 OPS through 17 games, which would easily be a new career high, and he should remain Chicago's clear top backstop with Amaya around to spell him once or twice per week.
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J.T. Realmuto C | PHI
Phillies' J.T. Realmuto: Day-to-day with back injury
Realmuto aggravated a back injury during Saturday's 3-1 loss to Atlanta, Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic reports.
Realmuto went hitless in two at-bats before being lifted in the sixth inning Saturday, but according to Varnes, the catcher initially suffered the injury in Friday's series opener during a play at the plate. He is expected to be re-evaluated early Sunday, at which point the Phillies will have a better feel for whether the veteran backstop will require a stint on the the injured list.
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J.T. Realmuto C | PHI
Phillies' J.T. Realmuto: Removed from Saturday's game
Realmuto was removed from Saturday's game against Atlanta due to lower-back tightness, Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic reports.
It's unclear when the injury occurred, but Rafael Marchan entered the game for Realmuto as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. Realmuto dealt with a sore foot about a week ago, though the issues don't look to be related. The severity of Realmuto's current injury is unclear.
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Abner Uribe RP | MIL
Javier Sanoja 3B | MIA
Trevor Megill RP | MIL
Agustin Ramirez C | MIA
Jake Woodford RP | MIL
Brewers' Abner Uribe: Clutch save against Miami
Uribe earned the save in the Brewers' 5-2 win over the Marlins on Saturday, recording the final two outs of the ninth inning.
The Brewers held a 5-1 lead going into the ninth, and manager Pat Murphy initially elected to keep Jake Woodford in the game after the latter pitched a scoreless eighth. Woodford proceeded to load the bases on three-straight singles, prompting Murphy to turn Uribe to record the final two outs. Uribe got Agustin Ramirez to groundout into a fielder's choice that drove in a run, but the right-hander came away with the save after retiring Javier Sanoja. Both of Uribe's saves have come over his last three outings, but Trevor Megill may not have been available Saturday -- he worked the prior two days and converted his previous save chance Friday. Uribe and Megill appear to be splitting ninth-inning work, at least for now.
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Freddy Fermin C | SD
Padres' Freddy Fermin: Back in starting nine
Fermin (head) will start at catcher and bat eighth Saturday against the Angels.
Fermin missed the Padres' last two games after taking a foul tip off his mask Wednesday, but he's been given the go-ahead to return behind the plate Saturday. The 30-year-old backstop hasn't found much offensive success in the early going, slashing .161/.270/.226 through his first 15 games.
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Pedro Pages C | STL
Cardinals' Pedro Pages: Riding pine Saturday
Pages isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Houston.
Pages has begun to turn things around offensively by notching a base hit in four of his last five games, but he'll begin Saturday's game in the dugout while Ivan Herrera starts behind the dish.
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: On bench Saturday
Smith isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rockies, Kirsten Watson of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.
Smith went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored Friday to extend his hitting streak to four games, but he'll grab a seat on the bench to begin Saturday's game. Dalton Rushing will start at catcher and bat seventh for Los Angeles.
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Astros' Yainer Diaz: Idle Saturday
Diaz is not in the Astros' starting lineup against the Cardinals on Saturday.
Diaz will take a seat after starting in both of the Astros' last two games, going 0-for-8 with two strikeouts in that span. Christian Vazquez bat eighth while doing the catching for Lance McCullers.
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Joey Bart C | PIT
Pirates' Joey Bart: Idle Saturday
Bart isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rays.
Bart will take a seat for the third time in four games after making five starts in the span of eight contests. He and Henry Davis will likely continue to split starts at catcher throughout the season, but things appear to be trending back in Davis' favor.