MLB Player News

Smith will not start Monday's game against the Diamondbacks, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

With Clayton Kershaw returning from a forearm injury Monday, expect Smith's off days to follow a consistent pattern going forward. Kershaw has thrown to personal catcher Austin Barnes in 16 of his 18 starts so far this season and will do so again this time around.

Nido (thumb) rejoined his teammates Monday but won't be activated until Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Nido is nearly ready to return from the thumb sprained which has sidelined him for all of September, but he evidently needs one more day before he's ready to go. He'll serve as James McCann's backup behind the plate down the stretch.

Heim will sit Monday against Houston.

Heim and Jose Trevino continue to split time fairly evenly behind the plate. Heim's .202/.240/.366 season slash line doesn't make a great case for a larger share of the available starts, though neither does Trevino's .232/.262/.325 performance.

Maldonado will sit Monday against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado continues to handle a very heavy workload behind the plate despite his .171/.272/.296 season slash line. He started 15 of the Astros' last 16 games heading into Monday but will rest here with Garrett Stubbs set to catch Jake Odorizzi.

Ruiz (head) is starting Monday's game against the Marlins, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Ruiz missed Sunday's game against the Pirates after he was hit in the helmet by a pitch Saturday, but he avoided a concussion. The 23-year-old is participating in pregame drills and will be back in action following his brief absence.

Mejia will start at catcher and bat ninth Monday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Despite going 0-for-9 over his last three games, Mejia will stick behind the plate for the third time in four contests. Mejia appears to have moved into a timeshare at catcher with Mike Zunino, and the two could continue to split starts in relatively even fashion for the remainder of the campaign.

Lee (oblique) went 2-for-6 in his first two games with Double-A Corpus Christi since being reinstated from the team's 7-day injured list Thursday.

Lee was sidelined for just under a month with an oblique strain. Since his June 14 promotion from High-A Asheville, Houston's top catching prospect is hitting .263 with eight home runs and 25 RBI in 47 games for the Double-A affiliate.

Gomes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers.

Gomes took Taylor Hearn deep in the fifth inning to put the Athletics on the board. It was his first home run since Aug. 23. He has scored in each of his last three games. The catcher is slashing .260/.302/.441 with 13 long balls, 50 RBI and 42 runs scored in 324 plate appearances.

Sanchez will sit Monday against the Twins, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez hits the bench for the second time in three days. He's gone just 1-for-17 at the plate over his last five games. Kyle Higashioka takes over at catcher.

Realmuto went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored in Sunday's 5-4 loss to Colorado.

The 30-year-old was the only Philadelphia batter to record multiple hits in the contest. The strong game snapped a 1-for-15 slump at the plate for the catcher. Realmuto has provided solid all-around production this year with a .262/.349/.434 slash line, 14 home runs, 60 RBI, 57 runs scored, 10 stolen bases and 23 doubles through 470 plate appearances.