MLB Player News

Murphy is not in the starting lineup for Atlanta's series finale with the Cardinals on Wednesday, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy will head back to the bench after he went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and two strikeouts in Tuesday's victory. The 28-year-old has now started only three out of six games to open the season after signing a lucrative deal with Atlanta in the offseason. Travis d'Arnaud will draw the start behind the plate and bat fourth against St. Louis.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Cardinals.

Atlanta manager Brian Snikter has had little choice but to make d'Arnaud an everyday player in the early going, as the veteran catcher has hits in five straight games while batting .455 (10-for-22) with three doubles, three runs and four RBI. The 34-year-old will need some rest eventually, whether he cools down at the plate or not, but he's started three of his five games at DH so far and should see consistent playing time at the position even as Sean Murphy handles the majority of the starts behind the plate.

Bethancourt is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale versus the Nationals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt will head to the bench as he continues to split time with Francisco Mejia this season. Mejia will take over behind the plate and bat ninth against lefty Patrick Corbin.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

After starting behind the plate in each of the Marlins' last three contests, Stallings will get a breather as Miami concludes its season-opening homestand with an afternoon game. Nick Fortes will catch for starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo in the series finale.

McGuire is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Even with the Pirates bringing a right-hander (Mitch Keller) to the hill for the series finale, the lefty-hitting McGuire will find himself on the bench for the third time in four games while the righty-hitting Connor Wong gets another turn behind the dish. McGuire remains atop the depth chart at catcher for now, but he may be Option 1A rather than a clear-cut starter or even a strong-side platoon option at the position.

Heineman went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Heineman was called up Tuesday after Austin Hedges (concussion) was placed on the injured list, and he immediately drew a start behind the plate while hitting ninth. He had a key sequence to provide Pittsburgh with an insurance run during the seventh inning, as he reached base on a single, stole second base and then came around to score. Heineman managed just a .544 OPS across 174 plate appearances in the majors in 2022, so his ability to provide ongoing production is questionable at best.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.

Gomes and Tucker Barnhart will continue their rotation at catcher, with the two having now alternated turns behind the dish through the first six games of the campaign. Over his first three starts and four total appearances, Gomes has produced just one hit in 13 at-bats.

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Vazquez is getting some routine maintenance while the Twins conclude their series in Miami with a day game after a night game. Ryan Jeffers will draw the start at catcher in place of Vazquez, who will most likely be back behind the dish for Thursday's series opener with the Astros.

Thaiss is hitting eighth and behind the plate Tuesday against the Mariners.

Thaiss gets the start behind the plate with Logan O'Hoppe getting the day off for Tuesday's contest. In 29 games last year, Thaiss registered a .640 OPS in 81 plate appearances.

O'Hoppe is not in the Angels' starting lineup Tuesday night against the Mariners.

Matt Thaiss will start at catcher and bat eighth versus the Mariners and ace right-hander Luis Castillo. O'Hoppe is 4-for-14 (.286) with one home run and six RBI through four games played this season.