MLB Player News

Alvarez is starting at catcher and batting ninth Thursday against the Nationals.

Alvarez is just 5-for-31 (.161) with one home run in 31 plate appearances since his April 7 promotion from Triple-A Syracuse, but he is at least drawing more starts now over Tomas Nido. The 21-year-old has been in the Mets' lineup three of the last four games, including Thursday night's series finale versus Washington.

Contreras is not in the starting lineup Thursday at San Francisco.

This would appear to be a routine breather for Contreras as the Cardinals wrap up a four-game set at Oracle Park. He started the previous 10 games, with eight of those starts coming behind the plate. Andrew Knizner is catching and batting eighth Thursday. Nolan Gorman is serving as the designated hitter and hitting third.

Bart (groin) remains out of the lineup Thursday against the Cardinals.

It's the third straight absence for Bart as he works through a bout of right groin tightness. Blake Sabol is catching and batting seventh for the Giants on Thursday afternoon.

Rodriguez (forearm) is expected to return at designated hitter for Triple-A Indianapolis within the next week, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Rodriguez landed on the minor-league injured list last Friday after being diagnosed with a right forearm strain, but it thankfully seems to be a relatively minor injury. The 22-year-old catcher ranks as one of the top prospects at his position and could make his MLB debut later this season if his health cooperates.

Stephenson went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

Stephenson scored the first run in Wednesday's contest, doubling to lead off the second inning before coming around on a Henry Ramos triple. Stephenson, who served as Cincinnati's DH in the win, has gone 9-for-26 with three doubles in his last eight contests. The 26-year-old catcher has yet to homer this year, though he's still slashing .286/.381/.345 with 10 runs and 10 RBI through 97 plate appearances. While Stephenson is the Reds' primary catcher, he should continue to see a fair amount of time at DH and first base in an attempt to ensure he stays healthy following an injury-hampered 2022 campaign.

Realmuto is not in the Phillies' lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

It's a day game after a night game, so Realmuto will get some well-deserved rest after starting the previous seven contests. Garrett Stubbs will catch Matt Strahm.

Delay went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI on Wednesday against the Dodgers.

Delay delivered RBI hits in back-to-back innings, the highlight of which came in the seventh inning when he drove in two with a double. Though he's served primarily as the backup when Austin Hedges is healthy, Delay has at least one hit in each of his last five starts. Overall, he's hitting .368 across 42 plate appearances and has chipped in four runs scored, seven RBI and one home run.

Bailey was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

After finishing 2022 in High-A and playing just 14 games in Double-A, the 23-year-old backstop is quickly ascending through the Giants' farm system. Bailey slashed .333/.400/.481 over 60 plate appearances with Double-A Richmond. If he's able to keep his hot streak going, there's a chance he cracks the big leagues at some point, though he would have to be added to the 40-man roster before that can happen.

Bart (groin) isn't starting Wednesday against the Cardinals, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Wednesday marks the second start Bart has missed due to his right groin tightness, but signs point to him rejoining the lineup relatively soon. Blake Sabol will continue to fill in behind the dish in Bart's absence.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Smith (concussion) won't be activated from the 7-day injured list until at least Saturday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

The Dodgers had previously considered activating Smith for Friday's series opener versus the Cardinals, but the 28-year-old backstop looks like he'll get at least a few more days to recover from the concussion before returning to action. The worst of the brain injury appears to be behind Smith at this point; he said he hasn't been experiencing any headaches since last Friday, and he's been able to do agility work, take batting practice and catch bullpen sessions within the past few days. He'll get some more live at-bats when the Dodgers return to Los Angeles on Friday, and if all goes well, Smith should be back in the lineup before the weekend comes to a close.