MLB Player News

Crooks is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Crooks will get a break after he went 1-for-6 with four strikeouts while starting behind the dish in the first two games of the series. Ivan Herrera will receive the start at catcher in Sunday's finale.

Fermin went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in a 6-5 win against the Giants on Saturday.

Fermin turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead with a two-run blast in the fourth inning. He added another RBI with a single in the sixth. The backstop homered in three straight games in early June, but since then he had gone 20 straight contests without a long ball before Saturday, batting a meager .191 with zero RBI during that span. Fermin has been splitting time with Luis Campusano behind the plate -- each player has started four of San Diego's past eight games.

Goodman went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five total RBI in a 12-6 win over the Royals on Saturday.

Goodman continued his jaw-dropping campaign, launching a three-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the seventh before adding an RBI single in the eighth. The All-Star catcher had gone seven games without a home run coming into Saturday -- a relatively long stretch for him -- but is now up to 33 long balls on the season. That's tied for second most in the majors at any position, and Goodman has a legitimate shot at breaking the NL record for homers by a catcher in a campaign, which was set by Johnny Bench with 45 long balls in 1970.

The Giants placed Rodriguez on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to right elbow neuritis, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The injury may have cropped up during Friday's game against the Padres, when he entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter for Bryce Eldridge. Rodriguez will be sidelined until at least mid-August, and in a corresponding move, the Giants recalled Nate Furman from Triple-A Sacramento.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Smith (neck) will need at least 3-to-4 weeks to fully ramp up and complete a rehab assignment before returning from the 60-day injured list, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Smith landed on the IL on June 11 due to neck inflammation, and after a prolonged shutdown, he's finally feeling pain-free and has been cleared to resume baseball activity. Based on the timeline laid out by Roberts, Smith isn't expected to return to the Dodgers lineup until at least late August, barring any setbacks that delay his activation. For now, Dalton Rushing will continue to serve as the Dodgers' primary catcher, while Eliezer Alfonzo provides depth.

Rodriguez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.

Rodriguez has notched a hit in all four of his games since returning from the injured list Monday, but he'll retreat to the bench to begin Saturday's contest. Henry Davis will instead handle catching duties and bat ninth.

Stephenson isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates.

Stephenson has tallied at least one base hit in each of his last four games, but the Reds will keep him in the dugout to begin Saturday's contest while Jose Trevino starts at catcher, batting seventh.

The Pirates reinstated Flores (concussion) from the injured list Saturday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After suffering a concussion last weekend, Flores is now fully recovered and will claim the roster spot vacated by Ryan O'Hearn (quad), who landed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. Flores has gone 4-for-15 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the majors this year and will provide depth at catcher and first base.

Alvarez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Miami, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez will move to the bench after going 2-for-19 with six strikeouts in New York's last five games. Luis Torrens will fill in at catcher and bat ninth.

The Guardians traded Naylor and Codi Heuer to the Brewers on Saturday in exchange for Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Naylor has posted a .438 OPS across 90 plate appearances in the big leagues this season and has slashed .225/.344/.438 across 45 games at Triple-A. He'll report to Triple-A Nashville to begin his tenure with the Brewers, but he would be the next man up to join the big club if one of Milwaukee's backstops were to get injured, or if the team moves Gary Sanchez before the trade deadline.