MLB Player News

The Nationals signed Alfaro to a one-year contract Tuesday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Alfaro recently opted out of his minor-league deal with the Brewers after slashing .244/.285/.430 with 15 home runs and 12 stolen bases with Triple-A Nashville. He'll give the Nationals an experienced catcher with Keibert Ruiz (concussion) still working his way back and Drew Millas (finger) out for the season.

Duno hit .338 with seven home runs, 24 walks and 11 strikeouts in 25 August games for Single-A Daytona.

One of the most feared hitters in the Florida State League, the 19-year-old Duno is in complete control at the plate of late, as he walked more than twice as often (23.1 BB%) as he struck out (10.6 K%) last month. On the season, the hulking catcher is slashing .281/.426/.496 with 15 home runs, a 19.1 percent walk rate and an 18.4 percent strikeout rate in 109 games. He is two or three years away from the big leagues, but Duno has the upside to be a top-five fantasy catcher in his prime.

Torrens went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in Monday's win over the Tigers.

It's the second three-hit performance for Torrens in his last five starts as he takes advantage of the latest IL stint for Francisco Alvarez (thumb/finger). Over nine games since Alvarez went down in mid-August, Torrens is batting .310 (9-for-26) with three doubles, two homers, six runs and 10 RBI. Alvarez is pushing to return quickly but isn't going to be 100 percent healthy until the offseason, so Torrens figures to retain a significant workload behind the plate through September.

Fortes went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and two additional runs scored in Monday's 10-2 win over the Mariners.

Fortes hit just .139 (5-for-36) with four RBI over 16 games in August, so he's already off to a better start in September. The catcher's long ball opened the scoring in the second inning, leading the charge in the Rays' romp to the win. For the season, he's at a .218/.286/.333 slash line with four homers, 17 RBI, 17 runs scored and one stolen base across 194 plate appearances. Hunter Feduccia has seen a slight edge for playing time lately, but he hasn't hit well enough to relegate Fortes completely to a backup role.

Kelly went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Monday's 7-6, extra-inning win over Atlanta.

Kelly played the role of hero Monday, launching his 14th home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth inning with a runner on to tie the game at 6-6. Then, in the bottom of the 10th, the catcher delivered a walk-off RBI single. Kelly came into the contest batting just .152 with a .346 OPS over his previous 10 games, but he's batting a much better .259 with a .793 OPS overall this year.

Feduccia is absent from the lineup for Monday's game versus the Mariners.

Feduccia has been starting at catcher against most right-handers, but he'll begin Monday's tilt on the bench as the Mariners send righty Luis Castillo to the bump. Nick Fortes will do the catching and bat eighth.

The Orioles recalled Handley from Triple-A Norfolk on Monday.

Handley will provide the Orioles with a third catching option in September, joining Samuel Basallo and Alex Jackson. The 27-year-old has previously logged 41 plate appearances with the Orioles earlier this season, slashing .073/.133/.073 with three RBI and two runs in 16 games.

The Yankees recalled Escarra from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday.

Escarra is back with the Yankees with the active roster expanding from 26 to 28 men. He's previously appeared in 40 games with the Yankees this season, slashing .202/.296/.333 with two home runs, one stolen base, 11 RBI and five runs across 98 plate appearances. Escarra will likely be in line for limited playing time at catcher while both Austin Wells and Ben Rice are available.

Langeliers is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.

The Athletics are playing their second afternoon game in a row, and Langeliers has now checked out of the lineup for both contests. The team hasn't indicated that Langeliers is nursing an injury, so the consecutive absences could stem from a desire to manage his workload. While serving as a catcher or designated hitter, Langeliers has started in 101 of the Athletics' first 139 games of the season.

Crooks is out of the lineup for Monday's game versus the Athletics.

Crooks drew his first major-league start in Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Reds and cranked his first big-league home run, but he finds himself back on the bench a day later. The young catcher has started just one of four games since being recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Pedro Pages will catch and bat seventh for St. Louis on Monday.