MLB Player News

Manager Charlie Montoyo said McGuire will split time at catcher with Danny Jansen down the stretch, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

McGuire and Jansen have each started four of the past eight games at catcher, a timeshare that is expected to continue down the stretch. The 24-year-old McGuire is slashing .259/.259/.519 with two home runs and a 25.9 percent strikeout rate in 27 plate appearances (eight games) since earning a promotion to the majors at the end of July.

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Jansen will split time with Reese McGuire behind the plate down the stretch, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Since the start of August, Jansen has started six games behind the dish while McGuire has started five, a trend that is expected to continue moving forward. Since the start of the second half, Jansen is slashing just .186/.269/.300 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 22 games, though he's been providing quality defense amid his offensive struggles.

The Cardinals optioned Knizner to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.

St. Louis didn't have a need for Knizner as a third catcher with the team bringing back top backstop Yadier Molina (thumb) from the 10-day injured list. During his month-long stint with the big club, Knizner appeared in 11 games, going 8-for-35 (.229 average) with a home run and four RBI.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Sunday's victory over Arizona.

The rookie catcher cleared the left field wall with a two-run shot in the third inning and plated another run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Since being called up July 26 to serve as the Dodgers' primary catcher, Smith is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with four homers and 17 RBI in 13 games.

Mejia went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's loss to Colorado.

Mejia got the Padres on the board with a solo shot off German Marquez in the second inning and went on to collect two more hits in the contest to register his fifth straight multi-hit game. Over that span, he has batted a remarkable .650 (13-for-20) with a pair of homers and three RBI.

Vazquez went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Angels.

Vazquez left the yard in the fourth inning, tying the game at 3-3 with a two-run blast. The 28-year-old backstop is slashing .281/.320/.489 with 18 homers and 52 RBI over 101 games this season.

Narvaez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rays, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

He is hitting .284/.360/.433 with three home runs in 21 games since the All-Star break. Tom Murphy will start at catcher and hit sixth.

Hedges is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies.

Hedges has only started once in the last four games. Francisco Mejia will start behind the dish and hit sixth.

Bemboom was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Kevin Smith was placed on the injured list with back spasms, so the Angels needed to add a second healthy catcher. Max Stassi, who is starting Sunday, will likely get the majority of the playing time in the short term. Bemboom hit .410 with two home runs in 11 games with the Bees after getting traded from the Rays for cash in mid-July.

Caratini is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Reds.

Caratini will end up starting the bookend games of the series, with Jonathan Lucroy picking up a start in between on Saturday. The two figure to continue splitting playing time while Willson Contreras (hamstring) is on the injured list.