MLB Player News

Fortes will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Though he'll crack the starting nine for the series finale, Fortes looks poised to work in a timeshare behind the dish with Hunter Feduccia, after the latter was acquired from the Dodgers on Thursday. Feduccia had started in three of the previous four contests and may hold a slight edge over Fortes in terms of playing time at the moment.

Feduccia is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Angels.

Feduccia and Nick Fortes have split the Rays' catching duties evenly since the former was added to the roster this past Friday. Fortes will be behind the dish and bat ninth in Wednesday's series finale.

Goodman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

He'll be getting a routine breather for the matinee contest after going 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, two RBI and two runs while catching all nine innings of the Rockies' 10-4 loss Tuesday night. Braxton Fulford will get the nod at catcher in the series finale.

Heineman (head) will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Heineman exited his most recent start Saturday due to a head contusion, but he avoided a concussion and made enough improvement to play the final two innings of Monday's 15-1 win. He'll make his return to the starting lineup Wednesday, but Heineman is expected to see few opportunities moving forward after top backstop Alejandro Kirk was reinstated from the 7-day injured list Sunday.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that he expects Amaya (oblique) to return from the 60-day injured list ahead of the team's series in Toronto early next week, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Amaya has been shelved since May 25 due to a left oblique strain but is nearing the finish line in his recovery after he was cleared to begin a rehab assignment July 22. After spending the first three games of his assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Amaya has moved up to Triple-A Iowa for his last six contests and has gone 5-for-16 with a 2:4 BB:K and no extra-base hits during that stretch. Once he's reinstated from the IL, Amaya will likely displace Reese McGuire as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Carson Kelly.

Kirk is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game in Colorado.

Kirk started at catcher in each of the last three games after returning from the 7-day injured list, so he'll get some rest during Wednesday's matinee. Tyler Heineman will be behind the dish and bat eighth as Toronto goes for the sweep.

Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.

Starting at DH and batting third, Baldwin continued to rack up hits. Over 16 games since the All-Star break, the rookie catcher is slashing .293/.359/.397 with six doubles and nine RBI, but his last home run came back on July 9.

Knizner will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

With top backstop Patrick Bailey resting for the day game after a night game, Knizner will step in behind the dish for his 17th start of the season. Knizner has put together a .167/.216/.229 slash line with one home run, two RBI and seven runs over 52 plate appearances.

Bailey is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey will receive a breather for the matinee contest after he started behind the dish in each of the Giants' previous three games. Andrew Knizner will handle catching duties for San Francisco on Wednesday.

Alvarez is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Guardians.

Alvarez started behind the dish in each of the previous four games, so he'll receive some rest during Wednesday's matinee. The Mets will turn to Luis Torrens at catcher as they try to avoid the sweep.