MLB Player News

Murphy went 3-for-4 with an RBI single and two doubles in a loss to the Indians on Tuesday.

Murphy drew a somewhat rare start and made very good use of it, posting his second multi-hit effort of the season. The 28-year-old has mostly capitalized on his opportunities thus far in 2019, hitting safely in four of the five occasions in which he's been in the starting nine. Omar Narvaez is still slated to continue logging the majority of starts behind the dish and is also performing well at the plate, but Murphy could progressively carve out more frequent playing time if his bat remains as hot as it's been during the early going.

Maldonado (illness) is starting at catcher and hitting eighth Wednesday against the White Sox, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Maldonado is feeling better after missing Tuesday's game due to an illness. The backstop is hitting just .195/.298/.268 through 13 games this season.

Leon went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 8-0 loss to the Yankees.

Leon had his contract purchased Tuesday in a move designed to help Boston's struggling rotation improve. After Tuesday's game, Boston's starters have a league-worst 7.18 ERA. Whether Leon's arrival means he'll get more starts than Christian Vazquez is unclear, but with either catcher, don't expect much offense.

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in an 8-4 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Grandal's third-inning drive off Jack Flaherty lifted the Brewers to a three-run lead, and was the key blow in a five-run frame. The 30-year-old backstop is hitting an impressive .404 in the early going, and has only one game without a base hit this season.

Realmuto went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, three runs scored and five RBI in Tuesday's 14-3 rout of the Mets.

The catcher added over 100 points to his SLG with the performance, and Realmuto now sports a .263/.338/.421 slash line through 16 games with two homers, 11 runs and 13 RBI. He should continue seeing a heavy workload for the Phillies, and his strong bat and spot in the heart of the lineup should keep him in the conversation as the top fantasy option behind the plate.

Perez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.

Perez started behind the plate the last two games and went 2-for-7 with a double and a walk. Kevin Plawecki will catch right-hander Shane Bieber and bat eighth in his absence.

Barnes isn't in Tuesday's lineup against the Reds, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Barnes will bow out of the starting nine after failing to record a base hit over his past three games. In his absence, Rocky Gale will pick up his second start of the 2019 campaign.

Maldonado was feeling sick pregame which caused him to be scratched from the lineup Tuesday against the White Sox, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports.

Maldonado was scheduled for a day off Wednesday, but will now likely play the final game of the series, assuming he's feeling better. Cam Gallagher will start Tuesday and bat eighth.

Narvaez is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Twins, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Narvaez will have a scheduled day off with Tom Murphy starting at catcher and hitting eighth. Narvaez is the everyday starter, starting in 14 of the first 20 games of the year.

Mejia is catching and hitting eighth against the Rockies on Tuesday.

Mejia slots in for Austin Hedges for the second game of this series with Colorado. The 23-year-old hasn't gotten going yet at the plate coming off a standout spring training that saw him log a 1.005 OPS, as he's hitting just .160 over his first 25 at-bats. He'll look to get on track against Rockies starter Jon Gray.