MLB Player News
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Will Smith C | LAD
Dodgers' Will Smith: Heads to bench
Smith is not starting Tuesday against the Padres.
Austin Barnes will start behind the plate Tuesday. Smith still has the slight edge in starts this season, catching 10 games compared to eight for Barnes.
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Francisco Mejia C | TB
Padres' Francisco Mejia: Sits again Tuesday
Mejia remains on the bench Tuesday against the Dodgers.
Mejia and Austin Hedges, who gets the call behind the plate Tuesday, have now each been in the lineup nine times in the season's first 18 games. Mejia has just a .429 OPS this season, though that's still better than Hedges' .375 mark.
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Omar Narvaez C | HOU
Brewers' Omar Narvaez: On bench Tuesday
Narvaez is not starting Tuesday against the Twins.
Narvaez is the clear starting catcher in Milwaukee, though he hasn't seen a particularly heavy workload. He's started nine times behind the plate this season, while Manny Pina, who starts Tuesday, has gotten the nod six times.
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Tucker Barnhart C | TEX
Reds' Tucker Barnhart: Back on bench
Barnhart will sit Tuesday against the Royals.
Barnhart finds himself on the bench for the third time in the last four games, with Curt Casali again starting behind the plate. Barnhart has hit just .167/.200/.167 through his first 25 plate appearances.
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Yan Gomes C | CHC
Nationals' Yan Gomes: Productive night against Mets
Gomes went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI in Monday's 16-4 rout of the Mets.
It's been a sluggish start to the season for Gomes -- the hits, runs and RBI were all his first in four games -- but like many Nats hitters, his bat woke up at the start of the team's road trip. If the 33-year-old can put together another good performance or two, he could cut into Kurt Suzuki's playing time behind the plate.
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Austin Hedges C | CLE
Padres' Austin Hedges: Goes deep in win over Dodgers
Hedges went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Monday's win over the Dodgers.
Hedges has been sharing the playing time at catcher with Francisco Mejia, and Hedges hasn't done enough offensively to become the team's primary backstop -- he has only hit .125 in 26 at-bats.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | LAA
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Doubles, homers in loss
D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 13-8 loss to the Phillies.
D'Arnaud has hit safely in all but one game this season, with six of his hits going for extra bases (four doubles, two homers). The former Met found new life with the Rays down the stretch last year, and while his track record suggests this could all come crashing down at any second, d'Arnaud is running hot at the moment and has the clear playing-time edge behind the plate in Atlanta.
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J.T. Realmuto C | PHI
Phillies' J.T. Realmuto: Five homers through 10 games
Realmuto went 2-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI in Monday's 13-8 win over the Braves.
The backstop homered in three straight games last week and is now up to five homers in just 39 plate appearances. Realmuto was in a clear tier by himself atop the catcher pool during draft season and is only separating himself further, even if he's yet to attempt a stolen base.