MLB Player News

Alvarez is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Giants, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez will take a seat after he went 1-for-10 with an RBI, a walk and three strikeouts during the team's series with the Brewers. Omar Narvaez will draw the start behind the plate and bat ninth in the series opener with San Francisco.

Tromp was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

He was up as a third catcher while Sean Murphy dealt with a hamstring injury, but now that the team's starting backstop appears to be in the clear, Tromp is no longer needed. He's gone 2-for-16 at the plate during his time in the majors in 2023.

Caratini went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Thursday's 3-2 win against the Mets.

Caratini was the only Brewer with multiple hits in the contest, and his two-run shot off Max Scherzer in the sixth inning provided the bulk of Milwaukee's output in the narrow victory. With William Contreras entrenched as the team's primary backstop, Caratini has been on the bench more often than not of late -- his start Thursday was his first over Milwaukee's past four games. Caratini has made the most of his limited opportunities in June, slashing .344/.389/.531 with two homers, seven RBI, six runs and a stolen base over 10 contests.

Smith is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rockies.

This appears to be a routine night off for Smith, who handled the catching duties in the first two games of the Dodgers' three-game set at Coors Field and drew a trio of walks Wednesday. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate and bat ninth in Thursday's series finale.

Contreras is not in the lineup Thursday against the Mets.

Victor Caratini will start behind the plate and bat sixth after Contreras handled catching duties in the first three games of the Brewers' four-game set at Citi Field.

Hedges is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

The Pirates' recent decision to promote top catching prospect Henry Davis hasn't affected Hedges, as the Bucs have instead elected to let the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft get his feet wet in right field and at designated hitter in his first taste of the big leagues. As such, Hedges and Jason Delay have remained the Pirates' top options behind the plate, with the former garnering each of the last three starts at catcher. Hedges will give way to Delay on Thursday while the Pirates and Padres conclude their series with a day game after a night game.

Sanchez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in Pittsburgh.

The two teams are playing a day game after a night game, and Sanchez had started five of the last six contests, so he'll understandably get a breather in the series finale. Austin Nola will catch Joe Musgrove on Thursday.

Moreno is not in the lineup Wednesday versus the Rays.

Carson Kelly will catch and bat seventh as the Diamondbacks face off against the Rays and right-hander Zach Eflin. Moreno takes a seat after logging two straight starts behind the plate.

Murphy went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Twins.

Atlanta's offense came out of the gate firing, and Murphy's first-inning homer off Joe Ryan was one of five long balls the team hit in its first 10 plate appearances. The catcher is putting the finishing touches on a strong month of June that has seen him slash .300/.340/.500 through 15 games, and on the season Murphy's up to 13 homers and 44 RBI in 60 contests, a pace that would shatter the career highs of 18 home runs and 66 RBI he set last year in Oakland.

Murphy is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Twins.

With a 12:20 p.m. ET start time, it's not surprising to see Murphy get a breather after the night game Tuesday. He was dealing with a hamstring issue last week but avoided an injured list stint, and Atlanta has a strong backup in Travis d'Arnaud to spell Murphy in situations like this.