MLB Player News

Alvarez will sit for the second straight game Saturday against the Phillies.

One would expect a 71-83 team to maximize at-bats for its 21-year-old catcher of the future down the stretch, but it's instead been 31-year-old impending free agent Omar Narvaez to start three of the last four games behind the plate. Perhaps the Mets simply don't want to tax Alvarez's knees too much at the end of a long season. The rookie's .213/.286/.433 season slash line is good for a 97 wRC+, a perfectly acceptable mark for a catcher, but he's managed just a .171/.269/.291 line (60 wRC+) since the start of August, which suggests he could use a break.

Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Friday against the Reds.

Rodriguez popped a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, the third long ball of his career. He's struggled considerably across his last 10 starts, managing only a .167 batting average with three RBI and four runs scored. Positively, he's struck out at only a 20 percent clip in that span, so he could turn things around prior to the close of the regular season.

Campusano is not in the lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

Brett Sullivan will start at catcher and bat ninth in the Padres' series opener versus St. Louis. Campusano was also on the bench for Wednesday's series finale against the Rockies but entered to deliver a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. He seems to be healthy.

Alvarez is out of the lineup Friday versus the Phillies.

Alvarez has been sharing starts this week with Omar Narvaez, who is behind the plate and batting ninth for the Mets on Friday at Philadelphia. Alvarez went 0-for-3 with an RBI sac fly in Thursday's series-opening loss.

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

Stephenson is just 2-for-22 across his last six games, and his offensive woes will now cause him to miss his second start in a row. Luke Maile will start behind the plate Friday and bat ninth.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies.

Gomes will get a breather after catching each of the previous three contests. Miguel Amaya will be behind the plate for Jameson Taillon.

Caratini went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Cardinals.

Caratini drew his 51st start behind the dish for the Brewers and made the most of it. His seventh homer of the year came in the sixth inning and chased Miles Mikolas from the game. Caratini has provided solid production as William Contreras' backup in Milwaukee with a .253/.327/.382 slash line over 57 games.

Bailey isn't in the Giants' lineup Thursday against the Dodgers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey will get a breather Thursday after going 5-for-25 with three RBI and three runs scored since returning from the injured list Sept. 13. Blake Sabol will fill in behind the plate and bat eighth.

The Cardinals placed Contreras on the 10-day injured list Thursday with tendinitis in his left wrist, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Contreras' move to the injured list will officially put an end to his season, opening the door for Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera to log a few extra starts before the end of the year. Contreras will finish the season with a .264/.358/.467 slash line alongside 20 homers and 67 RBI across 495 plate appearances.

Murphy isn't in Atlanta's lineup Thursday against the Nationals.

Atlanta seems to have fallen into a pattern of alternating between Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate, and Thursday will mark d'Arnaud's turn to start. Murphy is slashing .135/.286/.138 across 35 plate appearances since Sept. 1.