MLB Player News

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

He'll be getting a routine maintenance day while the Reds and Pirates wrap up their series with a day game. Tyler Stephenson checks in behind the dish, batting eighth in the lineup.

Caratini went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Giants.

Caratini had the only extra-base hit of the day for the Padres, and it came in a timely fashion as he connected on a first-pitch slider that landed just inside the right-field foul pole for a two-run homer to give them a 3-1 lead in the seventh. The former Chicago Cub has started out 4-for-13 with seven RBI in his first four games of the season and should continue to be the primary catcher with Austin Nola (finger) on the injured list.

Barnhart went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and two runs in Tuesday's 14-1 win over the Pirates.

The bottom of the Reds' order was a wrecking ball Tuesday, as Nick Senzel, Jonathan India and Barnhart combined for nine hits, nine runs and seven RBI from the 6-7-8 spots. The veteran catcher is better known for his defense, but Barnhart is having a strong start to the season at the plate, going 5-for-13 (.385) with a homer and five RBI in five games.

Narvaez went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and one walk in Tuesday's win over the Cubs.

Narvaez took Adbert Alzolay deep in the fourth inning to notch his second home run of the season and second long ball in as many games. He's opened the campaign hot overall, recording at least one hit in all four of his starts.

Smith will head to the bench Tuesday against Oakland, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers made it clear over the offseason that Smith would handle a lighter workload than is typical for a starting catcher, and that's indeed been the case thus far. Smith will sit for the third time in the first six games of the year, with Austin Barnes continuing to serve as Clayton Kershaw's personal catcher. Smith has been everything he's supposed to be when available, going 5-for-10 with a pair of homers, two doubles and four walks, but the playing-time concerns aren't going away anytime soon.

Diaz is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

After starting on Opening Day, Diaz has gotten into the lineup just once in the last four games. Both of his starts to date have come against southpaws, while Dom Nunez has handled the starts against righties like Tuesday's starter for Arizona, Luke Weaver. It's possible the two will continue to platoon going forward, which would leave Diaz on the bench for more than half of the Rockies' games.

The Nationals placed Gomes on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Gomes is one of nine Nationals players on the 40-man roster who will begin the campaign on the IL as a result of the team's recent COVID-19 outbreak. Prior reports have suggested that only four of the players in question have confirmed positive tests, but it's uncertain whether Gomes is one of the infected players or merely a close contact. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, players that tested positive will be eligible to return after 10 days in quarantine, while those ruled out through contact tracing can return after a week. With Alex Avila joining Gomes on the COVID-19 IL to begin the season, the Nationals will be without their top two catchers. Jonathan Lucroy and Tres Barrera were both added to the Opening Day roster as replacements, and Lucroy is slated to catch Max Scherzer in Tuesday's season opener versus Atlanta, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a home run and three walks during Monday's win over the Athletics.

Smith reached safely in four of his six plate appearances while also launching his second long ball of the season, and he's now hit safely in his last three contests while going deep in back-to-back contests. He's undoubtedly providing solid offense from a position where the elite offensive alternatives are quite limited.

Narvaez went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Cubs.

He took Jason Adam deep in the seventh inning to provide the Brewers with their only offense of the night. Narvaez has hits in all three of his starts to begin the season, going 5-for-11 with one homer and four RBI.

Contreras went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Monday's win over the Brewers.

Contreras went deep against Milwaukee starter Brett Anderson during a four-run fourth inning, giving the Chicago catcher his first long ball of the season. Contreras had seven home runs in 57 games last season and posted a career-high 24 homers in the team's last full season back in 2019. He could certainly surpass that figure in 2021 if he stays healthy.