MLB Player News

The Rangers recalled Huff from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Huff becomes one of three catchers on the Rangers' 26-man active roster, joining Jonah Heim and Meibrys Viloria. While Heim is locked in as the Rangers' No. 1 backstop and should play on a near-everyday basis, the righty-hitting Huff could get the chance to handle a short-side platoon role at designated hitter after Mitch Garver (forearm) was moved to the 60-day injured list upon undergoing season-ending surgery. The lefty-hitting Brad Miller is expected to get the first crack at replacing Garver in the lineup, though Miller likely won't be included in the lineup versus southpaws.

Nido will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's game in Atlanta, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Nido will make his second consecutive start and should act as the Mets' No. 1 catcher for the foreseeable future after James McCann was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with an oblique strain that manager Buck Showalter said will keep the veteran backstop sidelined for "weeks." With that being the case, it wouldn't be surprising if the Mets looked outside of the organization for catching help ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline, as Nido is probably best suited for a backup role. Though he draws praise for his abilities as a game caller and pitch framer, Nido has been a well below league-average hitter (51 wRC+) over parts of six seasons in the majors.

Hedges will sit Monday against the White Sox.

Hedges will get a breather Monday after he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Sunday against the Royals. Luke Maile will take over behind the plate and bat eighth in the series opener Monday.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.

Though he was named to the National League's All-Star team Sunday, Contreras remains a part-time player for Atlanta. With Travis d'Arnaud locked in as Atlanta's No. 1 catcher and with Marcell Ozuna secure as the team's everyday designated hitter now that the team is back to full strength in the outfield, Contreras could struggle to receive more than three or four starts during Atlanta's final seven games before the All-Star break.

Garver's wife, Sarah, confirmed via her personal Instagram account that her husband underwent successful surgery Monday to repair the flexor tendon of his right forearm.

Even though Garver and the team came to the mutual decision a few days ago that he would get season-ending surgery to address an injury that has lingered since early May, the 31-year-old was allowed to play in the Rangers' weekend series against the Twins, his former team. Garver went 0-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's 6-5 loss and will end the season with a .207/.298/.404 slash line to go with 10 home runs, one stolen base, 24 RBI and 23 runs across 215 plate appearances. He had been limited strictly to serving as a designated hitter since returning May 19 from his initial stint on the injured list, but he should be fully ready to resume catching duties by next spring. Expect the Rangers to formally place Garver on the 10-day IL or 60-day IL in advance of Monday's game against the Athletics.

The Rays added Bethancourt to the 26-man active roster ahead of Monday's game against the Red Sox.

The Rays acquired Bethancourt from the Athletics on Saturday, but the team waited a couple days to make a corresponding transaction to create room for him on the active roster. With Rene Pinto heading to Triple-A Durham on Monday, Bethancourt is expected to step in as the No. 2 backstop behind Francisco Mejia while Mike Zunino (shoulder) is on the injured list. The righty-hitting Bethancourt also picked up reps at first base and designated hitter during his time in Oakland and could make starts versus left-handed pitching at either spot for the platoon-happy Rays.

The Rays optioned Pinto to Triple-A Durham on Monday.

Pinto was sent to the minors after Tampa Bay added another catcher to their ranks in Christian Bethancourt, whom the team acquired from the Athletics over the weekend. Though he had seemed to work his way into a timeshare behind the plate with Francisco Mejia while Mike Zunino (shoulder) has been on the shelf, Pinto didn't perform well enough to stick around as a third backstop. Over his month-long stay with the big club, Pinto slashed .205/.225/.282 across 12 games.

Alvarez will continue his development in the minors and isn't an option to replace James McCann (oblique) on the major-league roster, The New York Daily News reports.

The 20-year-old was only recently promoted to Triple-A, where he's gone 2-for-16 with a double through his first five games. Alvarez's bat will probably wake up before long at Syracuse, but the Mets are more concerned with his development and long-term outlook than in rushing the young catcher to the majors to plug a hole in the roster. Prior to his promotion, the team's top prospect slashed .277/.368/.553 through 67 games for Double-A Binghamton with 18 home runs.

The Mets don't anticipate that McCann (oblique) will be ready to return from the 10-day injured list prior to the Aug. 2 trade deadline, David Lennon of Newsday reports.

Manager Buck Showalter didn't offer up a firm timeline for McCann's return from the IL when he was deactivated Sunday, but the skipper noted the veteran backstop would be sidelined for multiple weeks. As a result, McCann's expected absence through the deadline doesn't come as a major surprise, and it could prompt the Mets to look to the trade market for catching help. Top prospect Francisco Alvarez is waiting in the wings at Triple-A Syracuse, but Anthony DiComo of MLB.com suggests that the organization still intends on having him continuing his development in the minors in 2022. With that in mind, Tomas Nido will tentatively slot in as the Mets' No. 1 backstop until the Mets bring in outside help at the position.

Rutschman went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and two runs scored in Sunday's 9-5 win over the Angels.

Rutschman has found a little consistency at the plate again with hits in five of his last seven games. He's gone 6-for-19 (.316) with seven walks in that span. The catcher has lifted his batting average from .206 to .221 during this stretch of success, and he has a .714 OPS with four home runs, 12 RBI, 22 runs scored, a stolen base and 13 doubles through 41 contests this year.