MLB Player News

Barnes is catching and hitting ninth for Saturday's contest against the Diamondbacks, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

As expected, Barnes is hitting ninth and behind the plate with Clayton Kershaw on the mound, so Will Smith will get the night off. Barnes provides plenty of value for the Dodgers with his defense, but not much fantasy value due to his lack of offensive upside.

Nola will sit Saturday against the Rockies, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nola started the first two games of the season behind the plate, going 1-for-6 with a walk. Luis Campusano gets the start Saturday.

Bart was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees due to back tightness, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bart's 2023 campaign isn't getting off to a great start. He sat in favor of Roberto Perez on Opening Day, and it will again be Perez behind the plate Saturday. The Giants also agreed to a minor-league deal with Gary Sanchez, adding more competition at catcher.

Murphy will sit Saturday against the Nationals, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy led all catchers in games played (148) and plate appearances (611) last season, but he may have a tough time repeating those accomplishments following his move to Atlanta, a team which also employs Travis d'Arnaud. It was Murphy behind the plate and d'Arnaud as the designated hitter in the season opener, but d'Arnaud will catch Saturday while Marcell Ozuna gets some at-bats as the DH. The exact playing-time split at both positions may take some time to figure out.

Stallings will sit Saturday against the Mets, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Stallings started behind the plate in the season opener Thursday, going 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Since then, Nick Fortes has gotten the nod in consecutive games.

Bethancourt will be on the bench Saturday against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt started behind the plate on Opening Day, going 0-for-2 with a walk. Francisco Mejia will be the catcher Saturday. The exact playing-time split between the pair may take some time to determine.

Kirk will sit Saturday against St. Louis.

Kirk is expected to split time with Danny Jansen behind the plate this season while also sharing designated hitter duties with Brandon Belt. It was Kirk behind the plate and Belt at DH on Opening Day, but it will be Jansen and Belt who get the starts Saturday.

Heim is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Phillies.

Heim drew the nod behind the plate Opening Day and went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBI in Thursday's 11-7 win. Though he'll take a seat Saturday and give way to Mitch Garver behind the dish, Heim is still expected to be the Rangers' preferred option at catcher more often than not.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the White Sox, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Maldonado started the first two games of the year behind the plate, going 1-for-6 with a walk. Yainer Diaz will catch for Jose Urquidy on Saturday.

Garver will start at catcher and bat seventh against the Phillies on Saturday.

Garver is making his 2023 debut after ceding catching duties to Jonah Heim in the season opener Thursday. After playing just 14 games at catcher in 2022 due to a forearm injury, he may not qualify at catcher depending on league settings, but Garver is expected to share backstop duties with Heim in 2023. He'll also rotate at designated hitter along with Heim and Brad Miller, who will start at DH on Saturday.