MLB Player News

Barnhart is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Nationals.

After starting four straight games in which he recorded two runs and one RBI, Farmer will get a breather Tuesday. Kyle Farmer will serve as the starting catcher, batting eighth.

Ruiz (finger) has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2019 season, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Ruiz fractured the pinkie finger on his (right) throwing hand when he was struck by a foul ball in his Aug. 3 game with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers haven't provided a formal timeline for Ruiz's return, but the decision to shut him down for the season suggests he'll be in store for at least a month-long recovery from the injury. The organization's top catching prospect currently in the minors now that Will Smith has moved up to the big club, the 21-year-old Ruiz finished the 2019 campaign with a .261/.331/.347 slash line and six home runs across 350 plate appearances between Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa.

Stallings went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and three RBI in the Pirates' 10-2 victory over the Angels on Monday.

The backstop chipped in on a big day for the Pittsburgh offense with a fourth-inning solo shot off Jose Rodriguez, for his fourth long ball of the season. He's performed respectably over his 102 at-bats in 2019, as this performance leaves him with a .284/.348/.441 slash line.

Diaz isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.

Diaz will take a seat after going 0-for-6 over his last three contests. Jacob Stallings gets the call behind the dish and is set to bat eighth in Diaz's stead.

The Cardinals optioned Knizner to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

St. Louis didn't have a need for Knizner as a third catcher with the team bringing back top backstop Yadier Molina (thumb) from the 10-day injured list. During his month-long stint with the big club, Knizner appeared in 11 games, going 8-for-35 (.229 average) with a home run and four RBI.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Sunday's victory over Arizona.

The rookie catcher cleared the left field wall with a two-run shot in the third inning and plated another run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Since being called up July 26 to serve as the Dodgers' primary catcher, Smith is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with four homers and 17 RBI in 13 games.

Mejia went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's loss to Colorado.

Mejia got the Padres on the board with a solo shot off German Marquez in the second inning and went on to collect two more hits in the contest to register his fifth straight multi-hit game. Over that span, he has batted a remarkable .650 (13-for-20) with a pair of homers and three RBI.

Hedges is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies.

Hedges has only started once in the last four games. Francisco Mejia will start behind the dish and hit sixth.

Caratini is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Reds.

Caratini will end up starting the bookend games of the series, with Jonathan Lucroy picking up a start in between on Saturday. The two figure to continue splitting playing time while Willson Contreras (hamstring) is on the injured list.

Smith isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against Arizona.

Smith is headed for the bench after going 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI in Friday night's series opener. Russell Martin will handle the catching duties and hit eighth with Smith out of the mix.