MLB Player News

Gomes isn't in the Cubs' lineup Saturday against Pittsburgh, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

After having his five-game hitting streak snapped Friday, Gomes will get a breather for Saturday's contest. Miguel Amaya will fill in behind the plate and bat eighth.

Alvarez isn't in the Mets' lineup Saturday against the Angels.

Alvarez is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts across his last three starts, so he'll take a game off to regroup Saturday. Omar Narvaez will fill in behind the plate and bat seventh.

Ruiz isn't in the Nationals' lineup for Saturday's game against Miami.

Ruiz went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in his return to the lineup Friday, and he'll get another breather Saturday. Riley Adams will get the nod behind the dish and bat seventh.

Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a loss to Milwaukee on Friday.

Sanchez struck out in his first three at-bats before crushing a two-run shot to left field in the ninth inning. The long ball was his fifth through 14 games in August and his 17th overall this season, sixth most among all MLB catchers. That total is particularly impressive given that Sanchez didn't play his first game of the campaign until May 21. However, Sanchez remains a batting-average liability in fantasy, as he's posting a .210 mark on the season.

Bailey is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest against Atlanta, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Atlanta is starting Spencer Strider, so Bailey probably didn't put up too much of a fight when he was told he was getting a day off. Blake Sabol will do the catching for Logan Webb.

Murphy isn't in Atlanta's lineup Friday against the Giants, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy will get a day off Friday after going 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored during Wednesday's game against the Mets. As usual, Travis d'Arnaud will start behind the dish and bat seventh in Murphy's place.

Stephenson isn't in the Reds' lineup Friday against Arizona.

Stephenson will get a breather Friday after picking up a hit in six of his last seven games. Luke Maile will fill in behind the dish and bat ninth in Stephenson's place.

Ruiz (head) is starting as Washington's designated hitter and batting fourth Friday against Miami, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Lightheadedness kept Ruiz from playing in Thursday's game against the Yankees, but he appears to be feeling well enough to play Friday. The 25-year-old has collected a hit in 10 of his last 11 games and is slashing .372/.426/.651 with three homers and nine RBI in that span.

Rodriguez is not in the lineup for Friday's tilt versus the Cubs, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

The Pirates have now gone with Jason Delay at catcher for two of the last three games, although Rodriguez did appear as a pinch-hitter in the first of those contests he didn't start. Rodriguez also caught all 10 frames of Thursday's extra-innings loss to the Cubs, but he'll begin this one on the bench.

Realmuto is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.

The Phillies were off Thursday, so Realmuto will receive two days of rest to recharge his battery. Garrett Stubbs will do the catching for Cristopher Sanchez.