MLB Player News

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment during the middle of next week, per ESPN.com.

D'Arnaud has been on the disabled list since April 19, when he suffered a fractured pinkie after being hit by a pitch from Marlins reliever A.J. Ramos.

D'Arnaud was hitting .317/.356/.537 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 41 at-bats before his injury.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez neither scored a run nor drove one in Friday night against St. Louis. But he had three hits, which is notable because it was his first three-hit game since April 28.

Not that Perez has been cold - quite the contrary. His effort against the Cardinals extended his hitting streak to eight. He is batting .400 during that stretch (10-for-25) with four doubles and a home run. He pushed his average over .300 for the first time in two weeks in the process.

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal was taken out of Friday's game against the Padres after he suffered a head injury, reports MLB.com.

After the game, manger Don Mattingly he was unsure if Grandal had suffered a concussion. He will be assessed Saturday for further evaluation, but he did pass concussion tests after a bat hit his mask.

Pirates catcher Chris Stewart was the only member of his club to post a multi-hit game in Friday night's 4-1 victory over the Mets. 

Stewart went 2 for 3 from the plate, which included hitting his third double of the season. The double came in the second inning and scored Gregory Polanco.

This was only Stewart's 15th appearance of the season and 10th start. 

Stewart is now slashing .267/.277/.333 for the season. 

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud took batting practice on Friday, for the first time since going on the disabled list, per ESPN. .

d'Arnaud has been on the 15-day disabled list since mid April with a hand injury., as he nears a return from the disabled list.

Assuming no setbacks, the plan is for d'Arnaud to begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. 

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco was not included in the starting lineup for Friday's contest against Cleveland.

Mesoraco has been limited to DH duties because of left hip impingement he suffered in early April. He has appeared in the last two games, and only four games since April 11. He has been taking part in catching drills recently and should be cleared to catch a bullpen session over the weekend.

Mesoraco is hitting .178 (8 for 45) with a double, a triple and two RBI this season.

Cincinnati is an underdog (+145) at Cleveland, per VegasInsider.com.

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal is on an interesting run. He has gotten at least one hit in every other game since May 8 and is hitless in the others.

The bottom line is a 7-for-28 stretch that has lowered his batting average from .307 to a still-strong .287. Grandal has been among the pleasant surprises for the Dodgers with a fine .402 on-base percentage. He has 20 walks in 101 at-bats.

With catcher Christian Bethancourt having a poor start to the season, the Braves inquired about Brewers starting catcher Jonathan Lucroy, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. However, the Braves were told he was unavailable.

Bethancourt began the season as the Braves starting catcher, but he was quickly replaced by veteran A.J. Pierzynski after he struggled at and behind the plate.

With his Thursday rehab assignment game finished, Indians catcher Yan Gomes will return to his team for Sunday's game against the Reds. 

Gomes went 2 for 4 in his rehab assignment Thursday night. 

Gomes sprained his MCL in April and has been on the DL since. Gomes has gone a total of 5 for 13 during his rehab assignment. 

"We just want to try and make a good decision," Indians manager Terry Francona said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Part of this is how important he is to us. I've said it before ... you want your catcher to be indispensable. That's probably the ultimate compliment to him. Then when they're not around, you find out that maybe they are."

Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt went 3 for 4 with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored in his team's 10-1 win over the Brewers on Wednesday.

Bethancourt isn't known for his offense, but he helped key a seven-run seventh inning that decided the outcome of the game. He had managed just nine hits on the season before coming through with the big performance on Wednesday. The catcher has hit .190/.215/.286 with five RBI in 63 at-bats.