MLB Player News

The Royals recalled Nola from Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

With Salvador Perez battling a knee injury, Nola will join the big-league roster to provide catching depth behind Freddy Fermin. While it's unclear how long Perez will be sidelined, Nola should be in the mix to make his 2024 MLB debut in the coming days.

Perez (knee) isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

Perez was pulled from Friday's game with right knee discomfort and will be held out of the lineup Saturday, giving way to Freddy Fermin behind the dish. While it's unclear how severe Perez's injury is, the Royals felt the need to call up catcher Austin Nola from Triple-A Omaha, indicating Perez could miss multiple games.

Smith is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Smith will give way to Austin Barnes behind the dish for the second time in three days, with Barnes batting ninth Saturday. In 256 plate appearances, Smith owns a .848 OPS with 10 homers and a 16.0 percent strikeout rate.

The Rangers recalled Huff from Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.

Huff will return to the major-league roster, giving the Rangers some extra insurance at catcher while top backstop Jonah Heim (personal) is away from the team on paternity leave. Andrew Knizner is likely to serve as the Rangers' primary catcher while Heim is out.

Texas placed Heim on the paternity list Saturday.

Heim will be away from the team for up to three days as he awaits the birth of his third child. In the meantime, fellow catcher Sam Huff was called up from Triple-A Round Rock to replace Heim on the major-league roster.

Trevino is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Red Sox.

Trevino will get a day off after he went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-1 win. Austin Wells will take over at catcher and bat eighth against Boston.

Contreras (forearm) is targeting a return in late June, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports.

Contreras has resumed taking batting practice and hopes to be cleared to begin a rehab assignment early next week. If that happens, a return sometime during the Cardinals' June 22-30 homestand is likely. It would be at least a couple weeks quicker than he was initially expected back following surgery in early May to repair a fractured forearm.

Campusano is not in the lineup for Saturday's contest versus the Mets.

He will give way to Kyle Higashioka at catcher for the second day in a row and the third time over the Padres' last four contests. Campusano has just a .541 OPS since the beginning of May.

Bailey is not in the starting lineup Saturday against the Angels.

Bailey will get a breather after he went 5-for-17 with a double, two RBI and a run scored while starting each of the team's last five contests. Curt Casali will take over behind the plate and bat ninth versus Los Angeles.

Contreras (forearm) came out of his Friday's batting practice session with no issues and will repeat the step for the next few days, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

It was the first time Contreras had taken BP since he had surgery on his fractured left forearm in early May. The hope is that he will be ready for a rehab assignment after a few days of batting practice, but he will need to gain medical clearance first. Contreras is tracking toward an earlier-than-expected return, but there's no target date just yet.