Naylor is absent from the lineup Tuesday in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series versus the Tigers.

With lefty ace Tarik Skubal toeing the slab for the Tigers, the left-handed-hitting Naylor will begin the contest on the bench. The Guardians are going with Austin Hedges at catcher Tuesday.

Smith (hand) will take more swings in the batting cage Monday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Smith responded well to taking swings in the batting cage Saturday, and if Monday's session goes well, the catcher will face some live pitching Monday night. If the session goes poorly, Smith would likely be ruled out for the Dodgers' upcoming wild-card round series against the Reds beginning Tuesday. In his absence, Ben Rortvedt has been handling the bulk of the workload behind the plate, and he would likely do so if Smith can't give it a go versus Cincinnati.

Alvarez will undergo surgery in the coming days to repair a sprained UCL in his right thumb, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez suffered the injury in late August, but he elected to delay surgery until the offseason and returned to play in early September. The operation could delay Alvarez's offseason workouts a bit, but it should not affect his availability for the beginning of spring training.

Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Monday that Rutschman remains "front and center" as the organization's top catcher, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.

Though Baltimore signed Samuel Basallo to a $67 million extension in August, the 21-year-old is regarded as a bat-first prospect who won't yet be entrusted to handle a full-time catching role in the big leagues. Basallo instead projects to see most of his reps at first base and designated hitter in 2026 while occasionally mixing in behind the plate, so long as Rutschman maintains health. When available this past season, Rutschman continued to provide value defensively, but his offensive production continued its downward trend from his 2022 rookie campaign. Over 365 plate appearances in 2025, Rutschman turned in a .673 OPS and supplied underwhelming counting statistics (nine home runs, zero steals, 37 runs and 29 RBI) in his 90 games. Set to turn 28 in February, Rutschman still has time to regain his prior form at the plate, but investing in him in 2026 fantasy drafts may require some blind faith on the part of fantasy managers.

Diaz's status for Tuesday's wild-card series opener versus the Cubs is in question due to a strained oblique, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Diaz tweaked his oblique during Saturday's 12-4 win over the Diamondbacks. The Padres don't believe the injury is serious, but Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano will travel with the team to Chicago as insurance in case Diaz isn't included on the roster for the wild-card round. Diaz is the clear No. 2 catcher for the Padres behind Freddy Fermin, but he has served as the personal catcher this season for Nick Pivetta, who is slated to start Game 1 of the series.

Jensen went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Sunday's victory over the Athletics.

Jensen capped Sunday's regular-season finale with three hits, highlighted by a towering 482-foot homer in the seventh inning that stretched the lead to six. The young catcher hasn't looked overmatched since his Sept. 2 call-up, batting .300/.391/.550 with six doubles, three homers and 13 RBI across 20 games. Despite having a disappointing 2025 in which they missed the postseason, the Royals may have a future star behind the plate in Jensen, especially as Salvador Perez ages.

Jeffers went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, a stolen base and a walk in Sunday's extra-inning loss to Philadelphia.

Jeffers singled and stole his first and only base of the year in the fourth inning before knocking an RBI double in the sixth. He produced two straight multi-hit performances to end the year, but he also finished with an 18-game homerless drought. Jeffers hit .266 with a .753 OPS, 35 extra-base hits and 47 RBI through 464 plate appearances.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an RBI single during the Astros' 6-2 win over the Angels on Sunday.

Diaz got Sunday's scoring started with an RBI single in the first inning before giving the Astros a 2-1 lead with a solo shot in the fifth. His long shot was his 20th of the season, and he has reached the 20-homer mark in two of the last three years. With the Astros eliminated from playoff contention, Diaz will end the year with a .256/.284/.417 slash line with one steal, 56 runs, 25 doubles and 70 RBI over 567 plate appearances.

Kirk went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, a two-run homer and a double in Sunday's 13-4 win over Tampa Bay.

Kirk put the Jays ahead 5-1 with a grand slam off Ian Seymour in the first inning before extending Toronto's lead to 8-4 in the fifth with his second homer, a 419-foot blast off Edwin Uceta. Following a six-game stretch where he went 0-for-20, Kirk has gone 4-for-8 with three home runs in his last two contests. The 26-year-old catcher will finish the regular season with a .282/.348/.421 slash line, a career-best 15 homers, 76 RBI and 45 runs scored across 506 plate appearances.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Smith (hand) responded well to taking swings in the batting cage Saturday, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers aren't closing the door on Smith being available for the team's three-game wild-card series that begins Tuesday, but Roberts noted that the catcher's availability would be contingent on him taking live at-bats Monday without issue. If the Dodgers opt to hold Smith out for the opening round of the playoffs, Ben Rortvedt and Dalton Rushing would serve as their options behind the plate. Smith has been on the shelf since Sept. 13 due to a hairline fracture in his right hand.