MLB Player News

Bailey went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 8-4 loss to Kansas City.

Bailey's home run drought ended Wednesday, as he hit his first homer of the season in his 138th plate appearance. The 26-year-old catcher has struggled at the plate, tallying a 30.5 percent strikeout rate and a meager .507 OPS overall. He hasn't recorded multiple hits in a game since May 6.

Knizner signed a minor-league contract with the Giants on Wednesday.

Knizner was let go by the Nationals on Saturday after turning in a 1.016 OPS across 91 plate appearances with their Triple-A affiliate, and he'll now look to work his way up to the majors with the Giants. San Francisco hasn't gotten much production from Patrick Bailey (.474 OPS) or Sam Huff (.534) this season, so Knizner could be back in the big leagues relatively soon if he keeps hitting well.

Heim was removed from Wednesday's game against the Yankees due to a compressed nerve in his right hand, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Heim's hand began bothering him after he hit a ball off the end of his bat in the second inning, and he was replaced behind the dish when the Rangers went back out on defense. The severity of the backstop's injury remains unclear, but Kyle Higashioka and Tucker Barnhart could pick up some starts if Heim needs to miss some time.

Smith is not in the Dodgers' starting lineup against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Smith will get a breather after going 2-for-6 with two walks and two RBI over the first two games of the series. Dalton Rushing will serve behind home plate and bat eighth in Wednesday's finale.

Rutschman went 2-for-6 with a double and a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-4 extra-innings win over the Brewers.

The backstop capped the scoring on the afternoon by depositing a Tyler Alexander cutter over the left-field fence in the 11th inning. The home run was Rutschman's fifth of the season but his first off a southpaw, and it snapped a 25-game power drought for the switch hitter. While he's had a tough start to the season, Rutschman's bat may be waking up -- over his last 10 games he's batting .278 (10-for-36) with half of his hits going for extra bases (three doubles and a triple in addition to Wednesday's homer).

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Diaz will take a seat for the second night in a row due to Martin Maldonado receiving another start behind the dish. Maldonado has gone 3-for-29 at the plate over his last 12 contests, so he doesn't yet seem to have mounted a serious case for supplanting Diaz as the Padres' preferred backstop.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Murphy owns an .817 OPS for the season, but with rookie Drake Baldwin sporting an even hotter bat (.983 OPS), the playing time behind the dish has begun to tilt in the youngster's favor. The two backstops seem to be moving into a loose platoon behind the dish, as the right-handed-hitting Murphy has made each of his last three starts against left-handed pitching but now finds himself out of the lineup for a fifth straight matchup with a righty (Trevor Williams).

Hedges will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Earlier in the day, top backstop Bo Naylor caught the final six innings of the Guardians' 6-5 loss, which was the resumption of a game that was initially suspended Monday in the fourth inning. Since the Guardians and Twins are essentially playing a doubleheader Wednesday, Naylor will get some rest for the second contest of the day, allowing Hedges to pick up his 16th start of the season. Hedges is batting just .143, but he'll continue to get occasional starts versus lefties and when Naylor requires rest.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Earlier Wednesday, the Guardians resumed their series opener with the Twins that had been suspended in the fourth inning Monday. Since Naylor caught six innings earlier in the day, he'll take a seat for the series finale, which is essentially the second game of a doubleheader. Austin Hedges will handle catching duties in Naylor's stead.

Alvarez is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Boston.

After starting each of the last three games, Alvarez will get a breather in Wednesday's series finale. The Mets will turn to Luis Torrens at catcher as they try to avoid being swept.