MLB Player News

Hedges will start at catcher and bat ninth in Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

Hedges is part of the lineup for just the second time in eight games, with his inclusion being the result of top backstop Bo Naylor getting rest in a day game after a night game. The Guardians value Hedges' pitch-framing skills and ability to control the run game, but he's a well-below-average performer at the plate, even by the standards of backup catchers. He enters Tuesday's contest with a .157 average and four extra-base hits over 90 plate appearances on the season.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

Naylor will get a breather for Tuesday's day game after he caught all nine innings while going 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in the Guardians' 8-4 win Monday night. Austin Hedges will receive a turn behind the plate while Naylor rests.

Dingler is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians.

After getting recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Dingler made his MLB debut in the Tigers' 8-4 loss later in the evening, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI. He'll get a breather for the day game after a night game, affording Jake Rogers a turn behind the dish. The Tigers could deploy the two catchers in relatively even fashion in the short term, but Dingler looks to be the more intriguing fantasy option of the two. The 25-year-old popped 17 home runs, stole five bases and batted .308 while walking at a 10.2 percent clip over 71 games at Toledo prior to his promotion.

Torrens went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run scored and three RBI in Monday's rout of the Twins.

Getting the start behind the plate and batting eighth with Francisco Alvarez nursing a sore shoulder, Torrens did most of his damage with a two-run double in the seventh inning. Alvarez isn't expected to miss much action, but Torrens has demonstrated he's more than capable of filling in should the Mets decide their starting catcher needs a bit more time off. Through 72 plate appearances since joining the team, Torrens is slashing .308/.361/.538 with six doubles, three homers and 13 RBI.

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 5-3 win over the Astros.

Grandal got the Pirates on the board with a sixth-inning solo shot. He's hit two of his four homers in July, going 6-for-29 (.207) over 10 contests this month. The catcher has a poor .184/.221/.319 slash line with 18 RBI, 12 runs scored and one stolen base over 150 plate appearances. Barring a drastic improvement in performance, Grandal figures to remain in the backup catcher role behind Joey Bart.

Murphy went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 8-3 loss to Milwaukee.

Murphy's playing time has been dropping in the second half -- he's gone just 3-for-15 with five walks over five games since the All-Star break. The catcher's homer came in garbage time Monday. He's up to six long balls, 13 RBI, 10 runs scored, three doubles and a .210/.295/.379 slash line through 38 contests this season. Until Murphy finds more consistency at the plate, Travis d'Arnaud will continue to eat into his playing time.

Raleigh went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Monday's 14-7 loss against the Red Sox.

Raleigh went back-to-back with Randy Arozarena in the sixth inning and extended a hitting streak to five games, which ties his longest this season. Raleigh launched his 23rd homer, which leads all MLB catchers in the current campaign. The 27-year-old has been hot in the month of July with nine home runs in 22 games. Raleigh has also racked up eight multi-hit games in July, the same amount he had in his previous 80 games this season.

Dingler went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Monday's 8-4 loss to the Guardians.

Making his MLB debut, Dingler batted sixth and looked fairly comfortable in the position. The 25-year-old certainly earned the promotion, as he was slashing .308/.379/.559 for Triple-A Toledo so far this season, and Sunday's trade of Carson Kelly opened up a roster spot. The rookie will likely split time with Jake Rogers behind the plate just like Kelly did, though Dingler could quickly seize a larger share of playing time if he plays well. His short-term fantasy value is pointing upward.

Naylor went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Monday's 8-4 win over the Tigers.

Naylor took Bryan Sammons deep in the sixth inning for his seventh homer of the year. Naylor now has three homers and eight RBI over his last 16 games after registering just four long balls and 20 RBI in his first 63 games. The 24-year-old is trending upward and should continue to get everyday at-bats down the stretch.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.

Though he'll be on the bench Monday, d'Arnaud had started at catcher in three of the past four games and may have moved into a near-even timeshare with Sean Murphy. D'Arnaud is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, during which he's slugged two home runs and has drawn three walks. Murphy, meanwhile, has gone 2-for-19 with no extra-base hits over his last seven games, with his struggles prompting manager Brian Snitker to increasingly favor the hotter bat of the two catchers.