MLB Player News

Smith isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Reds, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Smith blasted a three-run homer in the fourth inning of Tuesday's loss to the Reds, but he'll get a breather for Wednesday's series finale. Austin Barnes will take over behind the dish and bat eighth.

Higashioka went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday in the Yankees' 5-1 win over the Orioles.

After manager Aaron Boone acknowledged prior to Tuesday's game that Higashioka would take on increased work behind the plate with Gary Sanchez off to a dismal start to the season, the 31-year-old rewarded the skipper's faith by slugging his fourth home run. Boone indicated that any decision on his starting catcher would be determined on a game-by-game basis, but Higashioka probably earned himself a second straight turn behind the dish Wednesday. Higashioka is now sitting on a monstrous .320/.414/.880 slash line through 29 plate appearances, and he should be on the radar in all leagues that start two catchers now that he's poised to see an uptick in playing time.

Barnhart isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Barnhart has gone 1-for-11 with a double, two runs and four strikeouts in his last four contests and will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games. Tyler Stephenson will start behind the dish and bat seventh.

Perez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Cleveland wraps up its series against Minnesota with a day game after a night game, so Perez will receive a breather after he caught all nine innings of Tuesday's 7-4 victory. Austin Hedges will check in for Perez behind the plate.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Cleveland.

The Twins have turned the catcher position into a timeshare of late, with both Jeffers and Mitch Garver having now received four starts apiece in the Twins' last eight contests. Jeffers is sitting on a lowly .392 OPS for the season, while Garver's .517 mark isn't dramatically better. Manager Rocco Baldelli may simply be waiting for one of the two backstops to get hot at the plate before settling on a primary option.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and and an additional run scored Tuesday against the Reds.

Smith took Jeff Hoffman deep in the fourth inning for his third home run of the season. It was the first time he's gone yard since April 5, a 13-start span. For the season, Smith is hitting 218/.389/.473 with seven RBI and 11 runs scored across 72 plate appearances.

Trevino went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Angels.

Trevino ended a hitless drought after 20 at-bats with a second-inning single. Texas' primary catcher is slashing .246/.275/.277 over 69 plate appearances.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Rays.

He crushed the second pitch he saw from Diego Castillo in the ninth inning over the fence in left-center field to bring the A's within a run, but they couldn't find an equalizer. Murphy has gone yard in back-to-back games and slugged all three of his homers on the year in his last eight contests, but on the season he's still only slashing .185/.323/.407.

Nola (finger) could be activated this weekend against the Giants, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Last week, manager Jayce Tingler said it was realistic that Nola could return for the first series of the week, but that now seems unlikely. Victor Caratini will continue to serve as the primary catcher until Nola is activated.

Manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Higashioka has earned more playing time, Sweeny Murti of Sports Radio 66 WFAN reports.

Higashioka is starting at catcher and hitting eighth against the Orioles. He's hitting .286/.400/.810 with three home runs in 21 at-bats this season while providing his typically solid defense. Meanwhile, Gary Sanchez is in the midst of a 2-for-28 slump over his last nine games. "It'll be kind of a day-by-day thing," Boone said regarding the playing-time split behind the dish.