MLB Player News

Mejia is dealing with a left thumb contusion Monday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Mejia wasn't in the lineup for Sunday's contest, but he's apparently dealing with an injury. It's unclear when or how he suffered the injury, but the Padres currently only have one other catcher (Austin Hedges) on the active roster. Whether the injury will require a stay on the injured list remains to be seen, but allowing Mejia time to recover would let the Padres add catching depth while he's on the mend. The 24-year-old is off to a slow start this season, hitting just .079 with two extra-base hits, two RBI and nine strikeouts over 16 games.

Caratini is out of the lineup for the first game of Monday's doubleheader with the Cardinals.

Willson Contreras is catching the first game of the twin bill, but he'll presumably be deployed as the Cubs' designated hitter in the nightcap or sit out the contest entirely. As a result, expect Caratini to draw a start in the second game.

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Cardinals.

Grandal was the second in a series of four consecutive home runs for the White Sox in the fifth inning. It was his first home run as a member of the club, and just his fourth extra-base hit of the season. As a result, he's managed just a .230/.347/.328 line across 75 plate appearances to this point.

Ruiz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Angels.

Ruiz's first major-league at-bat was a booming success, as he took Angels starter Julio Teheran deep in the third inning to get the Dodgers on the board. The 22-year-old catcher spent most of 2019 with Double-A Tulsa and also earned time with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He produced a combined .261 batting average with six homers and 34 RBI in the minors last year. Ruiz will share catching duties with Austin Barnes while Will Smith (neck) is unavailable.

Maldonado went 2-for-3 with two singles, a stolen base and a RBI in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Mariners.

Maldonado's single in the fourth inning drove in Kyle Tucker to tie the game at two. The stolen base is a rarity -- Maldonado's third in 10 seasons. The catcher is performing slightly above his career numbers thus far in 2020, slashing .235/.381/.392.

Mejia is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Mejia was behind the plate for the first two games of the series, going hitless across seven at-bats. Austin Hedges will check in for him at catcher, working in a battery with starting pitcher Garrett Richards.

Ruiz is starting at catcher and batting ninth against the Angels on Sunday.

It didn't take long for Ruiz to get his first start after earning his first big-league callup Saturday when Will Smith (neck) was placed on the injured list. It's tough to know what to expect from Ruiz, whose prospect star has faded a bit due to less-than-stellar seasons at the Double-A level in 2018 and 2019. Austin Barnes is likely to serve as the Dodgers' primary catcher while Smith remains out, though Ruiz could get a fair amount of playing time considering the team's typical commitment to giving catchers adequate rest.

Stassi will start at catcher and will bat eighth Sunday against the Dodgers.

Stassi, who is batting .243 with four home runs and 10 RBI on the season, will get a third straight start while top backstop Jason Castro deals with a neck injury. The Angels are viewing Castro as day-to-day for now, but if he fails to demonstrate any notable progress heading into Monday's series opener with the Giants, the veteran could be at risk of landing on the injured list.

Barnes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Barnes had started the past three games in place of Will Smith (neck), who has since been placed on the 10-day injured list. Though Keibert Ruiz will step in to replace him behind the dish in the series finale, Barnes should still see the lion's share of the starts at catcher while Smith is sidelined. Barnes is slashing an underwhelming .250/.286/.350 on the season, but he's been running hot at the plate lately, going 8-for-18 with a home run and a double over his past five games.

Murphy (foot) continues to make incremental progress while rehabbing at the team's alternate training site in Tacoma, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Manager Scott Servais acknowledges the progress for Murphy is "maybe not as fast as he'd [Murphy] like" but confirms the veteran backstop is feeling better. Murphy remains without a timetable for return, however, and he'll likely need to corroborate he's capable of catching multiple innings in intrasquad games at the alternate training site before being activated.