MLB Player News

Dingler went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-4 loss to the Mets.

Dingler extended his hitting streak to four games, and he's batting .313 with two home runs during the stretch. Overall, the Detroit catcher is now up to eight long balls for the season, which puts him on pace to fly past last year's career-high total of 13 homers in 126 regular-season games. Dingler can be a bit streaky at the plate, but he's locked into a starting role and is producing in the power department for fantasy managers.

Rodriguez isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Rodriguez will begin Thursday's game on the bench after going 0-for-7 with a walk and an RBI over two of the first three games of the series. Eric Haase will work as San Francisco's starting catcher and bat ninth.

Duno has homered in three consecutive games for High-A Dayton and is currently riding an eight-game hit steak.

After a slow start to the season -- Duno batted .203 over the first 20 contests -- the catching prosepct has put on a show in the Midwest League. Since April 30, he's gone 16-for-40 (.400) with seven extra-base hits (four home runs) and nine RBI over 10 games. In addition to the bat coming around recently, Duno has showed off strong plate discipline and swing decisions for the Dragons all season with a .412 OBP, 18.7 BB% and 25:28 BB:K.

Smith is leading off as the designated hitter Thursday versus the Giants, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

This is the first time in Smith's MLB career that he is hitting leadoff. He is taking over Shohei Ohtani's position and spot in the lineup Thursday while Dalton Rushing starts behind the plate. Smith has an underwhelming .229/.317/.371 slash line with two doubles and a homer through 10 games in May.

Kelly is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in Atlanta.

Kelly started at catcher in four of the previous five games, so he'll get a breather in Thursday's series finale. Miguel Amaya is doing the catching and batting eighth for the Cubs.

Susac (elbow) is nearing a return and may be reinstated from the injured list as soon as Friday's game against the Athletics, Maria Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Susac was placed on the 10-day injured list April 21 and began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on May 7, slashing .529/.619/.882 with five RBI, five runs scored, two home runs and a stolen base in 21 plate appearances over five outings with the River Cats. The 25-year-old catcher could rejoin the parent club during its three-game trip to Sacramento before the Giants head to Arizona. Susac is expected to serve as San Francisco's primary option behind the plate with Patrick Bailey now in Cleveland, though Jesus Rodriguez is still likely to factor into the mix.

Pages is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Athletics.

Ivan Herrera has been Michael McGreevy's personal catcher this season, and they will form Thursday's battery. Pages has had a rough start to May offensively, going 2-for-26 with a 1:9 BB:K.

Seattle recalled Pereda from Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday.

Pereda is back with the big-league club after being optioned to Tacoma on Friday. The 30-year-old's quick return is due to Cal Raleigh's (oblique) placement on the IL. Although Pereda recorded just five plate appearances in his first Mariners stint, but he should be in line for more action this time around as he splits time behind the plate with Mitch Garver while Raleigh is sidelined.

The Mariners placed Raleigh on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right oblique strain, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Raleigh tweaked his oblique Wednesday in Houston and has landed on the IL for the first time in his career. Oblique strains typically result in longer than minimum absences, but more will be known about Raleigh's timetable once the Mariners return to Seattle and he's examined further. Mitch Garver and Jhonny Pereda will share catching duties for Seattle while Raleigh is out.

Alvarez is expected to be sidelined eight weeks after undergoing right meniscus surgery Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

On Wednesday, the Mets provided an initial timetable of 6-to-8 weeks, but after the operation was performed, the expectation now is that Alvarez will need the full eight weeks to recover. Luis Torrens will serve as the Mets' primary catcher while Alvarez is shelved, and Hayden Senger will slot in as the backup.