MLB Player News

Ballesteros went 2-for-4 with a walk, a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Ballesteros snapped an 0-for-16 slump across his previous four games with a strong performance Sunday. Even following the mini cold spell, the 22-year-old is having a tremendous season with a .317/.380/.598 slash line, six home runs and 18 RBI across 30 contests. The Cubs also announced recently that Ballesteros would begin to see more playing time behind the plate, which should elevate his fantasy appeal once he gains eligibility at catcher in most formats.

The Marlins are expected to option Ramirez to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, Craig Mish of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports.

Ramirez will head to Jacksonville after posting a disappointing .230/.318/.345 slash line with two home runs, 14 RBI, 14 runs scored and three stolen bases over 129 plate appearances in 31 contests with the Marlins this season. The 24-year-old hasn't shown improvement of late with a .200 average and 13 strikeouts over his last 14 games, so the Marlins appear ready to send him to Triple-A for a reset. In a corresponding move, the Marlins are expected to promote top catching prospect Joe Mack from Triple-A, and he could end up serving as Miami's primary catcher while Liam Hicks sees more starts at designated hitter and/or first base.

The Marlins are expected to call up Mack from Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, Craig Mish of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports.

Mack will get a chance to make his MLB debut during Monday's series finale against the Phillies. The 23-year-old catcher is considered one of Miami's top prospects, and he's slashed .244/.388/.378 with three home runs and one stolen base over 103 plate appearances with Jacksonville this season. Agustin Ramirez is set to be sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move, so Mack will share reps behind the plate with Liam Hicks for the time being.

O'Hoppe (wrist) played catch Saturday, per MLB.com.

O'Hoppe is on the 10-day IL while recovering from a small fracture in his left wrist. The catcher has said that he doesn't expect a long-term absence, and his ability to play catch Saturday suggests that he's making progress toward a return. O'Hoppe still figures to be out until at least mid-May. Travis d'Arnaud has been working as the Angels' primary catcher in O'Hoppe's absence.

Dingler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

After making starts behind the plate in the first two games of the series, Dingler will receive a breather for Sunday's finale. Jake Rogers will fill in behind plate for Dingler, who has raised his OPS to .825 for the season after going 6-for-17 with three extra-base hits and a walk over his last five games.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Jansen will get a breather Sunday after he made starts at catcher in the first two games of the series. Kyle Higashioka will step in behind the plate and will form a battery with starting pitcher Jack Leiter.

Heineman relayed after Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Twins that he was removed from the game in the sixth inning as a "manager's decision" rather than due to any sort of physical issue, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

After taking an at-bat with the bases loaded in the top half of the sixth, Heineman was lifted from the game in the bottom of the frame in a move that seemed to signal that the veteran backstop was dealing with an injury. Instead, manager John Schneider said that he opted to pull Heineman from the game due to the poor at-bat, which ended with a weak flyout after the 34-year-old swung at a first-pitch breaking ball. Heineman had already begun to lose out on playing time to Brandon Valenzuela, and his 0-for-3 showing prior to exiting Sunday's game won't help Heineman's case for regaining work.

Campusano is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Though he'll be taking a seat for the series finale, Campusano may have edged ahed of Freddy Fermin on the depth chart at catcher. Campusano had started in each of the Padres' last four matchups with right-handed pitchers, going 3-for-14 with a pair of extra-base hits and a walk during that span. For the season, Campusano is now maintaining a .972 OPS over 54 plate appearances.

Quero is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

Drew Romo will handle catching duties in the series finale while Quero rests after working behind the plate for all nine innings on Saturday's 4-0 win while going 1-for-4 with an RBI.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

D'Arnaud will get a breather for the series finale after he went 0-for-8 while starting behind the dish over the Angels' last three games. Sebastian Rivero will handle catching duties for the Halos on Sunday.