MLB Player News

The Mets are aiming for Alvarez (thumb) to begin taking batting practice during their upcoming homestand, which begins Friday and runs through June 2, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

It's been a month since Alvarez had surgery to address a torn UCL in his left thumb, and he's almost ready to pick up a bat as he advances his rehab. The catcher remains on track to return from the 10-day injured list in mid-to-late June.

Kelly is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Kelly had started behind the dish in three of the past four games, but he'll give way to Jake Rogers as the Tigers and Royals wrap up their series with a day game after a night game. Rogers appeared to have supplanted Kelly as the top option behind the plate toward the end of April, but playing time between the two backstops has been more equitable in May, with Kelly having thus far garnered 10 starts at catcher to Rogers' nine on the month.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Twins, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

The Nationals and Twins are concluding their three-game series with an afternoon game Wednesday, so Washington will give backup catcher Riley Adams a start behind the dish. Ruiz is sporting a disappointing .434 OPS this season for Washington.

Murphy (oblique) played seven innings at catcher and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run Tuesday in his first rehab game for Triple-A Gwinnett.

In his first game since suffering a Grade 1 left oblique strain in his season debut with Atlanta on March 29, Murphy had been scheduled to catch just four innings, but he ended up staying behind the dish longer than expected. The 29-year-old backstop didn't exhibit any rust with the bat or in the field Tuesday, as he threw out the only baserunner that attempt to steal off of him and provided the highlight of the night with a 449-foot blast off the batter's eye in center field in his first at-bat. According to David O'Brien of The Athletic, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said that Murphy will be off Wednesday before starting behind the plate again for Gwinnett on Thursday. Snitker added that Murphy is also expected to get another start for Gwinnett as a designated hitter, so Atlanta is seemingly planning on having Murphy remain on assignment through at least Friday before bringing him back from the 10-day injured list.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Naylor started behind the dish in the first two games of the series, so he's likely just getting a breather as the Guardians and Mets wrap up their three-game set with an afternoon matchup. Austin Hedges will handle the catching duties for Cleveland.

Nido is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

With the Mets wrapping up their series in Cleveland with a day game, Nido will receive a breather after catching eight innings of Tuesday's 7-6 loss. Omar Narvaez will spell Nido behind the plate Wednesday.

The Phillies transferred Marchan's (back) rehab assignment from Single-A Clearwater to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday and went 1-for-2 with a walk in his first game with the latter affiliate.

Marchan missed all of spring training and began the season on the Phillies' 10-day injured list with a back issue. He played four rehab games with Clearwater, going 3-for-11 with a home run. With J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs holding down the catching duties with the Phillies, Marchan is likely to be optioned to Lehigh Valley once he comes off the IL.

McGuire went 2-for-3 with a solo home run during Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Rays.

McGuire went yard in the ninth inning off Erasmo Ramirez, marking the catchers' third homer of the season and his first since April 7. McGuire has been operating as the backup to Connor Wong in May, and he hasn't shown enough at the plate to warrant more playing time since, batting .214 with Tuesday's long ball being his only extra-base hit during the month.

Fry went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run and a walk in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the Mets.

Fry didn't start Tuesday, but he delivered a two-run home run when he pinch hit for Kyle Manzardo in the sixth inning. Over his last 11 games, Fry has gone 10-for-27 (.370) with four homers, nine RBI, 10 runs scored, two stolen bases and an 8:6 BB:K. The 28-year-old is taking advantage of every opportunity he gets despite lacking an everyday spot in the lineup. He's up to a .338/.476/.588 slash line with five homers, 18 RBI, 19 runs scored and three steals over 105 plate appearances this season. Fry has already surpassed his numbers from 113 plate appearances in 2023 in all of the major fantasy-relevant categories.

Grandal was removed from Tuesday's game against the Giants due to left groin discomfort, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After going hitless in his first three at-bats of the night, Grandal doubled and came around to score during Pittsburgh's ninth-inning rally, but he was unable to catch in the top of the 10th inning. The severity of his injury isn't immediately apparent, but the Pirates should have more information on the veteran backstop's injury before the start of Wednesday's game.